Department for Transport

Large Goods Vehicles: Parking

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that overnight parking facilities for large vehicle drivers are reopened following the easing of covid-19 restrictions.

Rachel Maclean: Motorway Service Areas in England, which are privately owned and operated, remained open during COVID restrictions, and overnight parking therefore remained available at these sites. In addition, other lorry parks are also privately owned and operated businesses, and decisions on opening are a matter for them. Although most legal restrictions have been lifted, the Government continues to provide guidance for businesses in managing the continuing risk of the pandemic.

Public Transport: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, (a) what steps he plans to take to monitor the levels of transmission of covid-19 on public transport and (b) if he will make (i) mask wearing and (ii) social distancing mandatory on all public transport in the event that covid-19 infection levels rise.

Rachel Maclean: It is not possible to systematically identify where infection occurs in individual positive cases and it is therefore not possible to provide definitive data on the different locations where transmissions occur, for example on public transport. On 19 July, many of the legal restrictions that the Government has imposed through the pandemic were lifted. This included the requirement to wear face coverings on public transport and the social distancing rules (2m or “1m+”). Instead of legal mandate, the Government expects and recommends that people continue to wear face coverings in crowded areas, which includes public transport.

Hammersmith Bridge: Repairs and Maintenance

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council and (b) the Mayor of London on securing a viable long term funding arrangement to repair Hammersmith Bridge.

Rachel Maclean: Following the Government’s investment of £4m toward emergency mitigation works, the Board responsible for the Case for Continued Safe Operation made the decision to reopen Hammersmith Bridge to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic on 17 July. This is a very welcome development, especially for the people and businesses that use the Bridge. The next step to permanent reopening lies with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF), as asset owner, who must submit a satisfactory business case to the Department for Transport. The submission of such a case is a condition for the release of any Government contribution to the cost of repairing the Bridge. The Government has set out a clear commitment to support LBHF in finding a long-term solution for the Bridge. As agreed in the Transport for London extraordinary funding and finance agreement of 1 June 2021 the Government will contribute up to 1/3 of the total costs, but no more. The Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce, chaired by Baroness Vere of Norbiton, met on 20 July. The Leader of LBHF and London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport were present.

Driving Licences

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average amount of time the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency retains original identity documents for driving licence applications from applicants whose identity cannot be verified with the UK Passport Agency, from receipt of that document until it is returned, in (a) 2019 and (b) 2021.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the length of time it takes for an application to be successful of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Association delays in returning Biometric Residence Permits to driving licence applicants.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to tackle DVLA delays in processing applications by changing the requirements for original identity documents to be sent for applicants whose identity cannot be verified with the UK Passport Agency.

Rachel Maclean: Currently, paper driving licence applications are likely to take between six and ten weeks to process. However, on selected transactions, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency returns original documents as soon as the application is opened to reduce the impact of processing delays and is working to expand this further. Driving licence applications where the applicant is required to submit a biometric residency permit (BRP), are also likely to take between six and ten weeks to process. The BRP will be returned to the applicant as soon as the application has been processed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here. If a driving licence applicant’s identity cannot be verified by HM Passport Office or via another secure service, the requirement for original identity documents remains a critical part of protecting the driving licence application process from potential fraud. There are no plans to remove these requirements.

Driving Licences

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the guidance issued by the DVLA on the process for issuing and reissuing driving licences.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving licences the DVLA has issued in each of the last five years.

Rachel Maclean: Guidance on how to apply for a driving licence is published on GOV.UK and can be found here. The volume of driving licences issued in each of the last five years is shown in the table below:YearNumber of Driving Licences Issued2016 – 201710.4 million2017 – 201811.2 million2018 – 201910.6 million2019 – 202011.2 million2020 – 20218.8 million

Driving Licences

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time taken by the DVLA to issue driving licences was in each of the last five years.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the longest time is that the DVLA has taken to issue a driving licence in each of the last five years.

Rachel Maclean: The information requested cannot be retrieved in the format requested in the time available. Officials from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will write to the Honourable Member when the information is available.

Driving Tests: Scunthorpe

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on learner drivers of the Driver and Vehicle Safety Agency's decision to discontinue driving theory tests in Scunthorpe.

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what impact assessment his Department or the Driver and Vehicle Safety Agency conducted on the decision to discontinue driving theory tests in Scunthorpe.

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for learner drivers of the Driver and Vehicle Safety Agency's decision not to take-up the offer made by North Lincolnshire Council's offer to provide an alternative location for driving theory tests in Scunthorpe.

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps (a) his Department and (b) the Driver and Vehicle Safety Agency plans to take to ensure that people with low incomes will not be negatively affected by the decision to discontinue driving theory tests in Scunthorpe.

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps (a) his Department and (b) the Driver and Vehicle Safety Agency plans to take to ensure that people with disabilities will not be negatively affected by the decision to discontinue driving theory tests in Scunthorpe.

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps (a) his Department and (b) the Driver and Vehicle Safety Agency plans to take to ensure that young people in North Lincolnshire will not be negatively affected by the decision to discontinue driving theory tests in Scunthorpe.

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment officials in (a) his Department and (b) the Driver and Vehicle Safety Agency (DVSA) have made of the potential effect of the decision by the DVSA to discontinue driving tests in Scunthorpe on young people in North Lincolnshire.

Rachel Maclean: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has launched a new driving theory test booking service for England, Scotland, and Wales for theory tests taken from 6 September 2021. The DVSA’s priority remains to deliver a theory test that ensures candidates have the correct knowledge and understanding to be able to drive safely on our busy, modern roads. The structure and content of the theory test will not change, but new software will mean it has a different look and feel. These changes will give the DVSA greater control of managing test content and enable it to update and improve questions and clips more quickly.Third party suppliers will deliver the actual test to the public, and so from September there will be changes to the theory test centre estate. As the contract has been awarded to more than one company, the number of theory test centres will increase from 180 to 202 across Great Britain. The increased number of theory test centres will result in a more even distribution of test centre locations and will make theory tests more accessible, especially to those in remote areas of the country.In creating a more even distribution, the location of many theory test centres will change and some places that currently have a theory test centre will no longer do so from 6 September.The theory test centre in Scunthorpe, Unit 2A, Haldenby House, 1 Berkeley Roundabout, will be one of the affected locations. There are no current plans for a theory test centre in Scunthorpe, but the DVSA thanks the North Lincolnshire Council for its offer of help should that change. The nearest theory test centre for candidates will be in Doncaster and Grimsby.The DVSA’s key performance measure is that a candidate should not have travel more than 40 miles (rural) or 40 minutes (urban) to get to a test centre unless they choose to travel further.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Qualifications

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing grants to people wishing to undertake large goods vehicle driving qualifications.

Rachel Maclean: We know that the costs of training can be a barrier both to new entrants and business. We are already supporting the industry train new drivers, including through apprenticeships and support for jobseekers. The new apprenticeship which includes training for a Category C+E licence, which is available from 2 August, will attract £7,000 in funding. There is also an incentive payment of £3,000 available for new apprentices who have an employment start date of 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021. A number of proposals to further support the training of heavy goods vehicle drivers have been put forward by industry sources and we are reviewing these proposals. We wish to support the sector in overcoming these barriers to joining this vital industry.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Driving Licences

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reducing the number of steps in the process for a driver to become licensed to operate a large goods vehicle.

Rachel Maclean: The government has just announced there is to be a consultation on a series of measures designed to help increase the number of HGV drivers, this includes the potential removal of the requirement to hold a full rigid lorry licence before taking a test in an articulated vehicle. The forthcoming consultation will help to inform the merits of the proposals.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Driving Tests

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of when the backlog of large good vehicles licence testing will be cleared.

Rachel Maclean: DVSA meet regularly with the vocational training industry to understand the current and future demand for vocational driving tests so that the Agency can better plan the additional capacity that is needed. DVSA are currently making available an average of 3,000 vocational tests per week compared to 2,000 pre-pandemic.Operational steps to further increase capacity have been recently announced and, subject to a forthcoming consultation, additional regulatory measures will significant add further to test capacity. Regular progress updates will be made available.

Public Transport: Coronavirus

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what risk assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of removing the legal requirement to wear face coverings on public transport during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

Rachel Maclean: Since 19 July, whilst many of the legal restrictions that the Government has imposed through the pandemic have been lifted, guidance will remain, making it clear this is not yet a return to normal. The Government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport. By practising key behaviours, people can continue to protect themselves and others. Employees and customers who wish to wear a face covering should be supported to do so. If transport operators wish to set their own policy on face coverings, that is a matter for them to consider, as long as they meet existing legal obligations including under equalities law.

Department for Transport: Levelling Up Fund

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications his Department received to the Levelling Up Fund by the closing date of 18 June 2021 for amounts (a) up to and (b) over £20 million.

Andrew Stephenson: The first round of the Levelling Up Fund received significant interest from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland bidding authorities, across the three investment priorities of the Fund. Bids are currently being assessed in line with the published assessment process. Outcomes from the first round of bids for the Levelling Up Fund will be announced later in the year and bidding authorities will be informed in due course.

Department for Transport: Levelling Up Fund

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications his Department received to the UK Levelling Up Fund by the closing date of 18 June 2021 from local authorities in Wales.

Andrew Stephenson: The Levelling Up Fund received significant interest from Local Authorities in Wales, across the three investment priorities of the Fund. Bids are currently being assessed in line with the published assessment process. Outcomes from the first round of bids for the Levelling Up Fund will be announced later in the year and bidding authorities will be informed in due course.

Transport: Young People

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage young people to enter the transport industry.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department for Transport is leading efforts to promote training and career opportunities for young people in the transport sector. This will help ensure we can deliver the huge investment we are making in our transport system and help build the skilled workforce for the coming decades. Some of the steps we are taking include:Continuing to work with the Department for Education to ensure that Adult Education policy and Further Education reform proposals reflect the needs of the transport industry, and will work with our stakeholders to use the Department for Work and Pensions Kickstart scheme. Supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activity including by being a founding signatory of the Department for Educations ‘Tomorrow’s Engineers Code’, which aims to increase and support the number of young people taking up STEM subjects, making careers in engineering accessible and a reality for future generations. In the coming months we also plan to publish a Transport Labour Market and Skills Discussion Paper. This will set out the labour market and skills challenges and opportunities for the transport sector post Covid and how we plan to build a pipeline of talent for the future. We will use this as the basis of consultation with industry and other stakeholders to find out what more we can do to make progress in this vital area.

High Speed Trains: Europe

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commit to commencing bilateral international negotiations on the creation of new high-speed rail routes between the UK and Europe.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government already engages with international partners, as well as private operators, to encourage the future growth and expansion of international rail passenger services from the UK. It also stands ready to engage with other partners and private operators to facilitate potential new routes where there is a commercial proposition to do so. The UK is also actively participating in discussions through multilateral organisations, such as the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Working Party on Rail, regarding the promotion and development of international rail.

High Speed Two: Workplace Pensions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2021 to Question 24147 on High Speed 2 Railway Line: Construction, what estimate he has made of the pension liabilities incurred by people employed by the HS2 project.

Andrew Stephenson: HS2 Ltd has a Group Personal Pension plan in place for its employees so there are no future liabilities. The annual provision for employer contributions to that plan are published in the Annual Report & Accounts. For further information please follow the below link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-ltd-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021

High Speed Two: Pay

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2021 to Question 24147, on High Speed 2 Railway Line: Construction, what the highest salary is of a person at HS2 Ltd; and how many HS2 Ltd staff are earning over (a) £100,000 and (b) £150,000.

Andrew Stephenson: The highest earning individual at HS2 Ltd is the Chief Executive, Mark Thurston. We publish information regarding remuneration of those earning over £150,000 annually: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/senior-officials-high-earners-salaries

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the purpose of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is to replace the European Structural and Investment Funds programme.

Paul Scully: The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will help to level up and create opportunity across the UK in places most in need, such as ex-industrial areas, deprived towns, and rural and coastal communities, and for people who face labour market barriers.Spending Review 2020 set out the main strategic elements of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in the Heads of Terms.  The Government will publish a UK-wide investment framework later this year and confirm its funding profile at the next Spending Review.The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is the domestic successor to the EU Structural Fund programme. It will maximise the benefits of leaving the EU through quicker delivery of funding, better targeting, better alignment with domestic priorities and by cutting burdensome EU bureaucracy.

Land Registry

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the average time taken by HM Land Registry to decide on an application and (b) trends in that time so taken in the last three years.

Paul Scully: HM Land Registry (HMLR) processed over 70,000 requests to search or change the Land Register every day in 2020/21. Searches constitute approximately 80% of requests. Over 90% of these are delivered instantly via digital services, with almost all of the remainder delivered within three days. Applications to change the Register make up the other 20% of requests and vary widely in type and complexity. Over the last quarter, on average, across all applications, changes took less than 5 weeks to be processed. Over a third are completed within a week. However, the most complex applications (around 1.5% of cases) took around 26 weeks on average. Precise comparisons with three years ago are not straightforward due to differences in processes for customers and categorisation of case type. Overall, average processing times are trending higher than the last three years, partly due to COVID-19 restrictions, and partly because HMLR has chosen to rebalance its resources to prevent waiting times for complex applications increasing further. Whilst this has increased the overall average waiting time for all applications to change the Register, HMLR believes that this is the right balance to ensure it is serving all its customer needs. Because applications to change the Register occur after the transaction is completed, the time taken to process them should not impact a property sale. However, if this is not the case, customers can ask for their application to be fast tracked and processed within 10 working days for no extra charge. HMLR reported in its 2020/21 Annual Report and Accounts that it is processing nearly four times as many requests to fast track applications for its customers as it did prior to the pandemic, reflecting the unique circumstances facing the organisation and the property market overall. HM Land Registry is making significant investment in long-term transformation to significantly improve customer waiting times in the future through greater digitisation and automation, and building more expert land registration capacity.

Business: Ethics

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the Good Business Foundation's proposed Good Business Charter.

Paul Scully: The Government recognises the importance of many of the issues covered by the Good Business Charter. This includes employee well-being, environmental responsibility, diversity and inclusion. We encourage business to use voluntary approaches where helpful to meet the specifics of their business model and supply chains, rather than simply taking a ‘tick box’ approach to comply with legislation. Large companies and groups already report on environmental, social, and employee matters as well as respect for human rights. Many UK companies already provide high quality reporting in this area. We intend to build on this in areas such as sustainability disclosures, audit and diversity.

Carbon Emissions

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will introduce a framework to support local authorities to deliver on net zero in the upcoming Net Zero Strategy.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We will set out our future plans in the Net Zero Strategy which is currently under development.

Housing: Insulation

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that people can easily access advice on home insulation measures and services.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Simple Energy Advice Service (SEA) provides impartial and tailored advice to help people improve their household’s energy efficiency and make their homes greener. SEA consists of an easy-to-use website supported by a call centre and the website has been accessed by over 1.5 million users. The Government is currently undertaking user research into improving the service. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) also published an EPC Action Plan detailing a series of commitments to engage consumers to support policy and drive action. The Government is also working with Local Authorities through the Local Energy Programme to develop support for retrofit programmes by addressing local barriers to clean growth activity.

Energy Supply: Costs

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps (a) his Department and (b) Ofgem has taken to avoid the risk of mutualisation of the cost of customer credit balances in the event of energy supplier failure.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Ofgem have strengthened checks at market entry to ensure that suppliers understand their obligations and have the appropriate arrangements in place to operate in the retail energy market (introduced from July 2019). In January this year Ofgem introduced a suite of new rules to ensure that suppliers act in a financially responsible manner and do not take actions that may result in their competitors and consumers facing increased costs should they fail. Ofgem are currently consulting on further measures that would require suppliers to automatically refund customers’ credit balances every year, and protect any amounts they hold above a certain threshold.

Energy Supply: Costs

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) Ofgem has made of the potential disproportionate effect on (i) vulnerable and (ii) less-able-to-pay consumers of the mutualisation of costs from energy supplier failures.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Keeping down bills and protecting vulnerable consumers remains a key focus for Government and Ofgem. For example, the Government’s Warm Home Discount and Energy Company Obligation schemes are focussed on reducing bills for vulnerable households. When a supplier fails and Ofgem appoints A Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR), they carefully consider the ability of the incoming supplier to effectively serve the new customers, including those in vulnerable circumstances. Very rarely does the appointment of a SoLR involve mutualisation of the costs of onboarding the customers. Mutualisation of unpaid supplier bills under the Renewables Obligations support scheme, is now less likely to occur. The Government recently restored the link between the threshold at which mutualisation occurs and the annual cost of the scheme, making the threshold much higher. We will also be consulting soon on the wider matter of supplier payment default under the Renewables Obligation, which will consider both regulatory and legislative approaches.

Energy Supply: Costs

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many energy suppliers have been investigated by Ofgem for the purpose of Ofgem undertaking its financial responsibility to protect customers against mutualisation of costs in the event of energy supplier failure.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Ofgem closely monitors suppliers’ ability to meet their customer service and financial obligations. Ofgem are actively implementing the new rules in relation to financial responsibility, and will take action where there is a risk of consumer detriment. A range of tools is available to tackle poor behaviour, including enforcement action. Mutualisation mechanisms play an important role in supporting the effective functioning of the energy market. Ofgem aims to ensure that suppliers do not behave in a manner that increases the likelihood or scale of costs to be mutualised across their competitors, and ultimately consumers, if and when they fail.

Energy: Prices

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of energy suppliers using customer credit balances to fund low-cost acquisition tariffs.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Deliberately collecting more credit than is required to service customers, in order to fund acquisition tariffs, would be unreasonable and unsustainable. In January this year, Ofgem introduced a suite of new rules to ensure that suppliers act in a financially responsible manner and do not take actions that may result in their competitors and consumers facing increased costs should they fail. We await the outcome of Ofgem’s recent consultation on further measures that would require suppliers to automatically refund customers’ credit balances every year, and protect any amounts they hold above a certain threshold.

Energy Supply: Costs

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the extent of the risks to consumers of energy suppliers failing in the context of recent increases in wholesale energy costs.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: When an energy supplier becomes insolvent, for whatever reason, Ofgem revokes the supplier’s licence, and appoints another supplier to quickly take over serving the customers, via the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process. Customer credit balances are protected under this process, nearly always without recourse to the Last Resort Supply levy, which allows for the mutualisation of certain costs of onboarding the new customers. In the unlikely event where the use of SoLR powers would not be practicable, the Government has put in place a Special Administration Regime, whereby my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State may seek the appointment of an administrator, whose primary objective is to ensure continuity of energy supply at the lowest practical cost.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the G7 Climate and Environment: Ministers’ Communiqué, published on 21 May 2021, when the long-term strategy for the UK’s pathway to zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 will be published.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Net Zero Strategy will be published before COP26, and will build on my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. This will be our Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in our information to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding that accompanied the UK’s new nationally determined contribution back in December.A number of sector strategies are also being published this year, as well as the Net Zero Strategy, including the Heat and Buildings Strategy and the Hydrogen Strategy.We have also recently published the Transport Decarbonisation Plan – the first such Plan in the world – setting transport on the path to net zero by 2050.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what policies his Department (a) has proposed and (b) plans to propose to help the Government meet the 2050 net zero target.   ​

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: My Rt. Hon. Friemd the Prime Minister has set out his Ten Point Plan for the UK to lead the world into a Green Industrial Revolution. This innovative programme sets out ambitious policies and £12 billion government investment to support up to 250,000 green jobs, accelerate our path to reaching net zero by 2050 and lay the foundations for our green recovery by building back greener from COVID-19. The Energy White Paper sets out our plans for the transformation of our energy system, including actions to fully decarbonise electricity generation by 2050. This drives forward the Ten Point Plan commitments, reaffirming how clean energy means jobs and economic growth for the whole country, moving on from COVID-19 to build back better, support green jobs, and accelerate our path to net zero. In March this year we published the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, the first by a major economy which sets out how industry can decarbonise in line with net zero while remaining competitive and without pushing emissions abroad. The strategy includes ambitions and expectations such as emissions in industry needing to fall by around two thirds by 2035, as well as policy priorities for the next ten years and seeks to provide industry with the long-term certainty it needs to invest in decarbonisation. We also recently published the Transport Decarbonisation Plan – the first such Plan in the world – setting transport on the path to net zero by 2050. Through the above plans, we have set out the concrete steps that we will take to build back greener from the pandemic and reach net zero emissions by 2050. Ahead of COP26, we will bring forward further bold proposals, including a Net Zero Strategy, to cut emissions and create new jobs and industries across the whole country. We are also publishing a number of sector strategies this year, as well as the Net Zero Strategy, including the Heat and Buildings Strategy and a Hydrogen Strategy.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what role he plans for local authorities to have in delivering greener homes.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Government is funding several schemes as part of its commitment to retrofit homes to cut energy bills for households and to make them greener on the path to Net Zero. The Local Authority Delivery Scheme (LAD), which supports projects to install energy efficiency measures such as various types of insulation, and low-carbon heating systems for low-income households, has already provided £500million to Local Authorities for upgrades to low-income households across England, and is being delivered up to December 2021. On 16th June 2021, the Government launched the Sustainable Warmth Competition enabling Local Authorities to apply for further funding under the £200million Local Authority Delivery Phase 3 scheme and from an initial allocation of £150million for the Home Upgrade Grant Phase 1 scheme, for delivery up to March 2023. In addition, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator has awarded £62million of funding to social landlords across England and Scotland to test innovative approaches to retrofitting at scale, seeing over 2300 social homes improved to at least EPC band C.   The Government has announced around a further £160million for the first wave of the £3.8bn manifesto commitment in financial year 21/22, delivering up to March 2023. The Government announced in the Sustainable Warmth Strategy a four-year, £4 billion successor scheme to ECO, to accelerate our efforts to improve homes to meet fuel poverty targets.   In our recently published consultation, we propose that up to 50% of the scheme can be delivered through referrals by Local Authorities and energy suppliers, to help accelerate our efforts to improve homes to meet fuel poverty targets.   ECO will continue to be an obligation on suppliers. As part of the Local Energy Programme, five Local Energy Hubs across England have so far received £13 million of funding. Each Hub is hosted by a lead local authority and works with LEPs and local authorities to increase their capacity to identify and deliver local energy projects and undertake the initial stages of project development up to the point where they can attract investment. Hubs have already supported over £60m of commissioned energy projects and are working on a pipeline of over £3bn of projects.  The Local Authority Delivery Scheme (LAD), which supports projects to install energy efficiency measures such as various types of insulation, and low-carbon heating systems for low-income households, has already provided £500million to Local Authorities for upgrades to low-income households across England, and is being delivered by the Local Energy Hubs up to December 2021.

Department of Health and Social Care

Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that there is sufficient provision of specialist beds throughout the country for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Tier 4 inpatient units for severe eating disorders.

Ms Nadine Dorries: NHS England and NHS Improvement have announced £40 million in 2021/22 to address the impact on children and young people’s mental health and enhance services across the country, including for eating disorders. We are ensuring the appropriate beds are available or that alternatives to admission are in place in England.

Mental Health Services

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2021 to Question 17864 on Mental Health services, what timeframe he has agreed with NHS England and NHS Improvement for the review of the implementation of Serenity Integrated Mentoring and similar models in trusts.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Department has not agreed a specific timeframe with NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he is having with representatives of providers of covid-19 vaccination hubs on the future use of the systems established for the covid-19 vaccination programme.

Nadhim Zahawi: We engage regularly with the COVID-19 vaccination programme to discuss its progress and future.A lessons learned process is ongoing to look at how the systems behind the programme can be used in future. On 1 July, NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to National Health service organisations setting out COVID-19 vaccination autumn/winter or phase three planning, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/07/C1327-covid-19-vaccination-autumn-winter-phase-3-planning.pdfThe letter highlights the delivery model for the potential booster vaccination programme and co-administration with the seasonal influenza vaccination programme. The letter acknowledges that mixed delivery models, with tailoring to community needs in partnership with local authorities, has played a critical role in reaching underserved communities. The letter recommends systems should deploy delivery models which both spread capacity across community pharmacy, vaccination centres and general practice whilst considering the best delivery access for local population requirements, making the most of community pharmacy, pop ups, mobile units and other approaches.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that covid-19 vaccinations administered in (a) EU member states and (b) other jurisdictions are recognised as valid for entry to UK without the need for quarantine and isolation.

Nadhim Zahawi: Work is ongoing to determine which non-United Kingdom vaccines could be recognised in this country. Once confirmed, NHSX will provide access to an NHS COVID Pass for those eligible.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish information on local infection rates and hospitalisations according to vaccination status.

Nadhim Zahawi: While Public Health England (PHE) plans to publish national data on hospitalisation by vaccination status in due course, there are currently no plans to publish local infection rates by vaccination status.The technical briefing published by PHE provides the latest data regarding hospitalisations and deaths by variant, including the Delta variant, as well as data concerning those hospitalised with the Delta variant who are vaccinated with one and both doses and those unvaccinated. This data is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigation-of-novel-sars-cov-2-variant-variant-of-concern-20201201

Coronavirus: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what role paediatricians will have in identifying children eligible for the covid-19 vaccine.

Nadhim Zahawi: On 19 July 2021, the Government accepted the final advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to offer vaccination to children and young people aged 12 years old and over with specific underlying health conditions that put them at risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19.The National Health Service are asking local systems to have plans in place to invite eligible children for a first dose as soon as possible, with the second dose offered eight weeks later. Operational guidance will be issued to the service, including paediatricians. We are ensuring a robust process is in place for the identification and invitation of all eligible children and young people. Public Health England are currently updating the Green Book for public health professionals, including paediatricians, to reflect the updated at-risk groups who should receive vaccination.

Travel: Quarantine

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons only those fully vaccinated under the NHS covid-19 vaccination programme are able to travel without having to quarantine on their return to England.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Government is taking a phased approach to amending border requirements, firstly for inbound arrivals from ‘amber list’ countries who have been fully vaccinated under the United Kingdom programme. Work is ongoing to determine which non-UK vaccines could be recognised in this country.

Vaccination: Birmingham

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide written instructions to NHS Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group requiring them (a) to liaise with hon. Members in the planning of community vaccinations and (b) to provide hon. Members with at least seven days notice of planned community vaccination sessions.

Nadhim Zahawi: There are no plans to do so. Whilst it is encouraged that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) do liaise with local leaders and hon. Members, CCGs are autonomous organisations. As such, there is no formal guidance on the level of interaction CCGs should have with hon. Members and this should be discussed at a local level.

Asthma: Telemedicine

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of (a) the efficacy of remote consultations for asthma treatment and (b) the effect remote consultations has had on outcomes for asthma patients.

Jo Churchill: No specific assessment has been made.

Trodelvy

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the cancer treatment drug Sacituzumab Govitecan, also known as Trodelvy, will be available for prescription and use in the NHS.

Jo Churchill: Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) does not yet have a marketing authorisation for use in Great Britain and is not yet available for routine prescribing. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is currently considering a marketing authorisation application for Trodelvy through the accelerated process for Project Orbis medicines.   The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is also currently developing guidance for the National Health Service on whether Trodelvy represents a clinically and cost effective use of NHS resources. It expects to publish draft guidance in spring 2022. Interim access arrangements may be considered for medicines licensed through the Project Orbis pathway where NICE guidance is not anticipated to be published in line with the three month timeframe. NICE and NHS England and NHS Improvement are actively engaging with Gilead to see how interim access arrangements may be applied.

Rare Diseases: Genetic Engineering

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the UK Rare Diseases Framework, whether he has had discussions with NICE on concerns arising from the first gene therapy for a rare disease to go through NICE's appraisal process having been rejected.

Jo Churchill: We have had no specific discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for developing its recommendations independently and in accordance with its methods and processes. NICE has recommended a number of cell and gene therapies through its technology appraisal programme and these treatments are now available to National Health Service patients in line with NICE’s recommendations.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of emerging treatments from AstraZeneca for ovarian and kidney cancer being made available through the NHS.

Jo Churchill: Ministers and officials regularly discuss emerging treatments with a range of organisations.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body which makes evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE assesses all new cancer medicines and is committed to publishing draft guidance at the time of licensing, with final guidance published within three months of licensing wherever possible.

Long Covid: Screening

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adopting the University College London recommendations of 15 July 2021 for a UK National Screening Programme for people with symptoms of long covid.

Jo Churchill: ‘Long’ COVID-19 is a relatively new condition and we continue to learn more about the best way of providing support for people experiencing the long-term effects of infection. National Health Service guidance advises that those with long term symptoms should first contact their general practitioner to decide on the best care pathway, including whether a specialist assessment by a Post COVID-19 clinic is needed. These clinics offer a range of diagnostic tests to address the multi-system nature of ‘long’ COVID-19.

Travel: Quarantine

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for  what reason the Government requires people who have received both covid-19 vaccinations abroad to quarantine when returning to the UK from a country on the amber travel list, while those who received both vaccines in the UK and have also returned from an amber list country are not required to quarantine.

Jo Churchill: We are taking a phased approach to amending requirements for vaccinated passengers and exploring plans to remove quarantine for vaccinated non-United Kingdom residents from ‘amber list’ countries later this summer. The Test to Release scheme remains an option for travellers returning from ‘amber list’ countries to shorten their quarantine period.We are working with medical and public health experts and international partners to broaden this scheme to more countries. We will provide an update in due course on the approach for individuals vaccinated in other countries, including those who have been vaccinated with vaccines not approved for use in the UK.

Sickle Cell Diseases: Health Services

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department plans to provide to help improve the lives of patients with haemoglobinopathies, including transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia.

Jo Churchill: The Government published the United Kingdom Rare Diseases Framework in January 2021, outlining the key priorities for rare diseases including improved access to specialist care, treatments and drugs. In October 2019, NHS England specialised commissioning concluded a review of haemoglobinopathy services, which resulted in the development of new Haemoglobinopathy Co-ordinating Centres and the multi-disciplinary National Haemoglobinopathy Panel of clinical experts which aim to improve outcomes for patients with haemoglobinopathies which includes thalassemia patients.

Coronavirus: Immunotherapy

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential clinical benefits to immunocompromised patients of the use of monoclonal antibody treatments alongside covid-19 vaccinations.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his strategy is for ensuring immunocompromised patients have access to treatments that may boost the efficacy of covid-19 vaccines.

Jo Churchill: Immunocompromised patients are a priority cohort for research into therapeutic and prophylaxis treatments such as monoclonal antibody therapies, novel antivirals, and repurposed compounds. Monoclonal antibody treatments could potentially play a complementary role alongside the current vaccines programme in providing protection for those patients who may receive lower protection from vaccination compared to the general population. The Therapeutics Taskforce and the cross-agency United Kingdom-wide group RAPID C-19 are monitoring clinical trials of monoclonal antibody treatments. The National Health Service is preparing to deploy antibody treatments as soon as they become available.It is not yet possible to determine the exact patients who may be able to benefit from new treatments, as this will depend on results from clinical trials, licensing approvals from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and clinical policies set by NHS England and expert clinicians.

Coronavirus: Immunotherapy

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to assist the  Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to progress the licensing process for the REGEN-COV, Regeneron, monoclonal antibody treatment.

Jo Churchill: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) licensing of therapeutics, including for REGEN-COV, is an independent process. The Therapeutics Taskforce encourages companies seeking approvals for COVID-19 therapeutics to provide the data the MHRA requires to ensure that their products are of acceptable quality, safety and efficacy. Approval can only be determined when the full data has been provided by the manufacturer and assessed by the MHRA.

Dental Services

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional funding he plans to provide to NHS England to help reduce the current waiting lists for NHS dentistry.

Jo Churchill: We continue to work closely with the National Health Service, Public Health England and the profession to safely increase levels of service, taking into account the ongoing infection prevention and control and social distancing requirements. This includes prioritising existing and additional funding provided to NHS England to tackle backlogs in care.

General Practitioners: Telemedicine

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with GPs on the effect of e-consult on workload pressures.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of eConsult on GPs' workloads during the covid-19 outbreak.

Jo Churchill: We have regular discussions general practitioner (GP) stakeholder organisations and representatives on a wide range of issues, including appointment and consultation systems and workload.We continue to work with NHS England and NHS Improvement and general practice to assess the impact of different types of appointment and the effects on workload. NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned an independent evaluation to understand the impact for staff, patients and the wider health and care system of using digital tools in primary care to inform its long-term strategy.

Gender Recognition: Clinics

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on the health and wellbeing of trans people of the increase to waiting times between referral and first appointment for Gender Identity Clinics; and what steps he is taking to help shorten those waiting lists.

Jo Churchill: We know that long waiting times for care is negative on patient’s mental health and wellbeing. We are improving access to gender identity services with the opening of four new clinics, in London, Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside and the East of England. These clinics are now all open and receiving patients. A further new clinic is planned in Sussex due to open in 2022. These clinics are expected to reduce the waiting list by a third.

Lung Cancer: Diagnosis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure more people with lung cancer are diagnosed at an earlier stage in line with the Long Term Plan.

Jo Churchill: NHS England and NHS Improvement are prioritising delivery of NHS Long Term Plan commitments that also support COVID-19 recovery, including projects such as targeted lung health checks. This lung health check is available in 19 locations, with a further four sites by September.We expect to diagnose 6,000 cases of lung cancer at an earlier stage, an increase of more than 30%.

Primary Health Care

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that local health leaders are supported to enhance opportunities for people to care for themselves in their local areas.

Jo Churchill: Supported self-management or self-care is part of the NHS Long Term Plan, to encourage, support and empower people to manage their ongoing physical and mental health conditions. In 2019, NHS England published an action plan for delivering personalised care ‘Universal Personalised Care: Implementing the Comprehensive Model’ which includes supported self-management and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/universal-personalised-care-implementing-the-comprehensive-model/A range of guides have been produced to support healthcare professionals and organisations leading local implementation of personalised care to deliver on the Comprehensive Model, including materials on care co-ordination, health coaching and supported self-management. In addition, NHS@home is a programme of work transforming health and care services so that people are supported to keep well, recover and manage their health and wellbeing at home. It aims to improve the use of technology to support more people to better self-manage their health and care at home. This provides more convenient, high quality and timely alternatives to face to face care, where this works for the individual and when clinically appropriate.

Question

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Correction for Luther et al., Hepatic gap junctions amplify alcohol liver injury by propagating cGAS-mediated IRF3 activation, published in the PNAS journal of 11 May 2020, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on the treatment of alcohol-related liver disease of the identification of two potentially druggable pathways in that study.

Jo Churchill: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will review the study and assess the impact on its published clinical guidance.

Integrated Care Systems

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the role of a (a) self care and (b) pharmacy is represented within all Integrated Care Systems.

Jo Churchill: Guidance is being drafted to support the development of integrated care systems (ICSs). The role of ICSs is to align action between partners to improve outcomes and tackle inequalities, enhance productivity, make best use of resources and strengthen local communities.Each integrated care board (ICB) and their partner local authorities will be required to establish an integrated care partnership (ICP), bringing together primary care, social care, public health and others where appropriate. The member of the ICB drawn from primary medical services providers should bring perspectives from all primary care partners. The ICP will be tasked with promoting partnership arrangements and developing a plan to address the health, social care and public health needs of their system. The ICB and local authorities will have regard to that plan when making decisions.In support of these new arrangements commissioning of primary care functions will be delegated to ICBs, whilst national contractual arrangements, which currently include promoting and enabling self-care by community pharmacy, will continue to be developed at a national level.

Food: Labelling

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a full mental health impact assessment was carried out prior to the creation of his Department's policy to make calorie labelling mandatory for all restaurants, pubs and cafes with 250 or more employees.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department will use to determine the (a) efficacy and (b) success of its policy to make calorie labelling mandatory for all restaurants, pubs and cafes with 250 or more employees.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) when and (b) how many experts were consulted by his Department on its policy to make calorie labelling mandatory for all restaurants, pubs and cafes with 250 or more employees.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish his Department's evidence on the relationship between mandatory calorie labelling on menus and reduction in levels of obesity.

Jo Churchill: We have consulted extensively throughout the development of our policy to mandate calorie labelling for the out-of-home sector. Our 2018 consultation received 1,158 responses including feedback from a wide range of experts. However, a record of the specific number of experts who have contributed to this process is not held centrally. The Department has published an impact assessment detailing the likely effect of the policy. This includes analysis on the estimated benefits that would be generated from a reduction in calorie intake as well as the evidence used to support our assessment. The Department has also published an equality assessment, which together with the impact assessment, considers evidence of the potential impact of the policy on mental health. We are committed to reviewing the Regulations within five years of them coming into force. In part, the review will consider whether the policy has achieved its aims in helping consumers make more informed, healthier choices when eating out or getting a takeaway and whether it has encouraged businesses to reformulate their food offers. Officials are developing plans for evaluating the effectiveness and implementation of the policy. The impact assessment and equality assessment are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/calorie-labelling-for-food-and-drink-served-outside-of-the-home

General Practitioners

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage general practices to return to in person appointments.

Jo Churchill: Face-to-face appointments have been available throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and approximately half of all appointments during the pandemic have been delivered in person. NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to general practitioner (GP) practices on 19 July, setting out the expectation that practices should offer a blend of face to face and remote appointments, with remote triage where possible.Practice receptions should be open, so patients without access to phones or online services are not disadvantaged. Practices are expected to review their communications to ensure patients know how to access GP services.

Lung Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has undertaken to quantify the indirect costs of lung cancer and its impact on the economy.

Jo Churchill: The Department has not undertaken research to quantify the indirect costs of lung cancer and its impact on the economy.

Lung Cancer: Screening

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the planned timescales are for (a) the National Screening Committee review of low dose CT scans for lung cancer and (b) his Department receiving that Committee's recommendations on that matter.

Jo Churchill: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has begun to update the recommendation on screening for lung cancer following the publication of the NELSON trial. As per the UK NSC’s published evidence review process, a search for new published peer reviewed literature since 2007, the date of the last review, will be undertaken, with data from the NELSON trial forming part of the evidence base. The UK NSC will then host a three-month consultation which is expected to open in autumn 2021. The UK NSC will review the evidence and submissions and make a recommendation on whether population screening for lung cancer should be introduced which will be shared with the Department.

Lung Cancer: Screening

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the results of the NELSON trial on low dose CT screening for current and former smokers; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has begun to update the recommendation on screening for lung cancer following the publication of the NELSON trial. A search for new published peer reviewed literature since 2007, the date of last review, will be undertaken, with data from the NELSON trial forming part of the evidence base. The UK NSC will then host a three-month consultation, expected to open in autumn 2021. The UK NSC will then review the evidence, alongside comments submitted and make a recommendation on whether population screening for lung cancer should be introduced.

Calcium and Milk: Children and Young People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to encourage the consumption of (a) milk and (b) calcium for (i) children under the age of 8 and (ii) other young people.

Jo Churchill: Change4Life and Start4Life include information to parents of young and primary school aged children on consumption of milk as part of a healthy balanced diet.The Government’s dietary advice, as depicted by the Eatwell Guide, encourages the consumption of milk and dairy products or dairy alternatives as part of a healthy balanced diet. The Eatwell Guide principles, including consumption of milk and dairy products, underpin the School Food Standards and Public Health England’s example menus and guidance for early years settings, which are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/example-menus-for-early-years-settings-in-englandChildren and young people should be able to get all the calcium they need from a healthy balanced diet. Milk and dairy products or dairy alternatives are an important source of calcium. When choosing dairy alternatives, such as soya drinks, we advise selecting calcium-fortified versions.

Asthma: Prescriptions

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the merits of making prescriptions available for biologics for (a) severe asthma and (b) asthma that is difficult to control, available within secondary care.

Jo Churchill: Clinicians are responsible for making prescribing decisions for their patients, taking into account the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s technology appraisals and guidance on management of asthma and the local commissioning decisions of their respective clinical commissioning groups.Prescribing of biologics is co-ordinated through severe asthma centre multi-disciplinary team to ensure current treatments are optimised and all appropriate treatments are considered with use of biologics as part of the treatment review for each patient. The biologic prescribing pathway is one of the areas of focus for the NHS England Severe Asthma Accelerated Access Collaborative.

Asthma: Health Services

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to restore severe asthma referrals to pre-covid-19 levels.

Jo Churchill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon MP) on 7 July to Question 13943.

Asthma: Medical Treatments

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support clinical choice in asthma treatment in the provision of biologic treatments, as recommended in the APPG report, entitled Improving Asthma Outcomes in the UK.

Jo Churchill: There has been significant increase in the use of biologics in the last three years. The decision to start a biologic treatment for asthma is made by specialist severe asthma multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) based in severe asthma centres on clinical grounds. The MDT considers all aspects of the patients’ illness, efficacy of current treatments and other treatment options. Patients receiving biologics are closely monitored to ensure that they are receiving the right treatment to help manage their symptoms.

Electronic Cigarettes

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will request the Committee on Toxicity to undertake a toxicological evaluation of the effect of nicotine delivery levels in e-cigarettes.

Jo Churchill: There are no plans to do so.The Department and Public Health England previously asked the Committee on Toxicity (CoT) to review the potential toxicological risks from electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems. This included information on ENDS e-liquids that contain nicotine, concentrations, and nicotine exposure. The CoT’s statement is available at the following link:https://cot.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2020-09/COT%20E%28N%29NDS%20statement%202020-04.pdf

Tobacco

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to conduct further reviews of e-cigarettes and other novel nicotine delivery systems after his Department has published its eighth evidence review on those matters in March 2022.

Jo Churchill: Further plans for reviewing the evidence for e-cigarettes and other novel nicotine delivery systems are being considered and will be outlined in the new Tobacco Control Plan for England which will be published later this year.

NHS: Finance

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure financial transparency of primary care providers to clinical commissioning groups, including on partner incomes.

Jo Churchill: It is a contractual requirement for general practitioner (GP) practices to publish the mean earnings of partners, salaried GPs and any locum who has worked in the practice for over six months.GPs and partners with total National Health Service earnings above £150,000 per annum will be required to report those earnings by submitting self-declarations annually. The pay threshold at which earnings will have to be reported will change annually with inflation.

Doctors' List of Patients

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of patients who have presented to a GP in the last 12 months declared a matter for which they are on a hospital waiting list, including (a) appointments, (b) treatments and (c) surgery, as the primary reason for their visit.

Jo Churchill: This information is not held centrally.

Endometriosis: Diagnosis

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to reduce the average diagnosis time for endometriosis patients to (a) four years or less by 2025 and (b) one year or less by 2030.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The treatment and diagnosis of endometriosis which will be carefully considered as part of work on the Women’s Health Strategy. A call for evidence was launched to inform the priorities, content and actions of the Strategy, which included questions on gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis. We are analysing the responses and we aim to publish the Strategy later this year.Research exploring the experiences of women presenting with endometriosis-like symptoms in primary care hosted by the National Institute of Health Research, was published earlier this year, which will inform our understanding of delays in diagnosis.

Hospitals: Coronavirus

Laura Trott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to update Infection, prevention and control guidance for hospitals in response to the easing of covid-19 lockdown restrictions on 19 July 2021; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including in that guidance an exemption from requirements to wear a face covering for parents providing cot-side care to their babies on neonatal units.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Health and care settings will continue to maintain appropriate infection prevention and control measures as necessary and this will be reviewed during the summer.Guidance in National Health Service settings, including hospitals and primary and community care are undergoing further review to ensure that it is in line with service needs and as evidence becomes available, including in neonatal settings.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that families of the most vulnerable children do not have to travel long distances in order to support those going through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Tier 4 inpatient units.

Ms Nadine Dorries: As part of the standard operating procedure for child and adolescent mental health services, the National Health Service aims to admit a patient to the nearest clinically appropriate unit in the first instance, while managing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both service capacity and the number of children and young people requiring specialist in-patient care.NHS-led provider collaboratives for children and young people’s mental health services will be key partners in ensuring that admissions are placed close to home.

Period Poverty

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether period poverty will be addressed in the Government's women’s health strategy; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward policies to tackle period poverty in the devolved nations.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Menstrual wellbeing is being considered as part of Women’s Health Strategy. A call for evidence was launched to inform the Strategy and included questions on menstrual health. We are currently analysing the responses. No assessment has been made of the potential merits of bringing forward policies to tackle period poverty in the devolved administrations. However, officials share learning on the initiatives being taken to address period poverty across all four nations.

Department for Education

National Tutoring Programme: Pay

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his Department's policy to continue to fund the core salary of academic mentors beyond 31 July 2021.

Nick Gibb: The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) was developed at speed to respond to a very immediate need to support pupils to catch up on education lost because of restrictions to schools and colleges. The programme has deployed academic mentors to provide tailored support to schools, including subject specific work, revision lessons, and additional support available outside of schools. Since October 2020, academic mentors have provided significant support to young people to catch up on lost education. The programme has reached over 60,000 pupils in the most disadvantaged schools through placement of academic mentors.In year one of the programme, schools received funding to cover the core salary of academic mentors between October 2020 and 31 July 2021. Where mentors had made agreements with schools to continue delivery over the summer holidays, arrangements were made for them also to receive a payment to cover August 2021.Next academic year, mentor contracts will run until the end of August as standard to bring consistency between mentors and others in the school community.Applications are now open for individuals interested in becoming an academic mentor in the academic year 2021/22. Further information is available here: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/ntp-academic-mentors/application-process and here https://tuitionhub.nationaltutoring.org.uk/NTP/s/ntp-academic-mentor-registration.

Pre-school Education: Coronavirus

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department plans to issue to early years providers on the covid-19 self-isolation rules that apply before the 16 August 2021 in the context that the requirement to keep school-aged children in self-contained bubbles will end at the beginning of the 2021 summer holidays.

Vicky Ford: Firstly, I would like to offer my thanks to all early years providers for their support in the national effort to isolate, track and manage the spread of the virus.Since 19 July 2021, we have not asked early years settings to keep children in consistent groups (‘bubbles’) or to reduce mixing between groups. Updated guidance was issued to the sector on 6 July which included a Frequently Asked Questions document and a process map explaining the changes to contact tracing and self-isolation.Additionally, early years settings are no longer asked to undertake routine contact tracing as NHS Test and Trace are now taking a more active role in notifying close contacts.Until 16 August, anyone identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case should continue to self-isolate. From 16 August, fully vaccinated individuals will not have to self-isolate at the point they are identified as a close contact of a positive case. This will also apply to anyone under 18 who is identified as a close contact.

Children: Day Care

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support nurseries and other childcare providers to cope with the (a) practical and (b) financial effects of high levels of staff self-isolation during the covid-19 outbreak.

Vicky Ford: We have provided unprecedented support to early years providers during the COVID-19 outbreak and settings have also had access to a range of business support packages, including the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. As long as the staff in the nursery schools affected meet the criteria for the scheme, then early years providers are still able to furlough their staff while that scheme remains in operation, for example, if settings have to close temporarily to manage local effects of COVID-19, such as infections. Findings from the Childcare and Early Years Provider and Coronavirus survey have shown that in November/December 2020, 74% of group-based providers have made use of the Furlough Scheme at any point. Findings of this survey can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/survey-of-childcare-and-early-years-providers-and-coronavirus-covid-19-wave-3.Eligible nurseries may also have qualified for a Business Rates discount to help reduce the costs of their business rates bills during the COVID-19 outbreak. Eligible Nurseries could get 100% off in the first 3 months of the 2021-22 tax year with 66% off for the rest of the 2021-22 tax year which may help providers who have had a reduced income as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.Additionally, eligible nurseries have been able to access recovery loans to help with access to loans and other types of finance, so that they can recover after the outbreak and transition period.We liaise regularly with local authorities, and they have not reported to us a significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either during this term or at any time since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020. Where parents have been unable to temporarily secure a childcare place, for example due to their usual setting being temporarily closed due to COVID-19, this has been able to be quickly resolved locally and local authorities are not reporting significant sufficiency of supply issues.

Ministry of Justice

Rape: Trials

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will list the circumstances in which the name of the victim of an alleged rape may not be disclosed to the defendant.

Kit Malthouse: The disclosure of a victim’s name to a defendant charged with a criminal offence is a fundamental aspect of ensuring the defendant can prepare a defence at court and thus receives a fair trial. The one circumstance in which the name of the victim of an alleged rape would not be disclosed to the defendant during proceedings in a criminal court would be if, following an application by the CPS, the court made a witness anonymity order under section 88 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 in respect of the victim who was due to give evidence in the case and whose name had not already been disclosed during the investigation or earlier stages of the proceedings. The court must apply a number of stringent tests before granting such an order. These include that the proposed order is necessary, that it is in the interests of justice that the witness should testify and, having regard to all the circumstances, the effects of making the order would be consistent with the defendant receiving a fair trial. Victims of rape are currently granted lifetime anonymity under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 and although this does not include anonymity from the defendant, publishing details of the victim, such as their name, address, place of education or work, is a criminal offence.

Magistrates: Retirement

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his timetable is to bring forward legislative proposals for the increase in magistrates' retirement age.

Chris Philp: Measures to raise the mandatory retirement age of judicial office holders, including magistrates, from 70 to 75 have been brought forward as part of the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 19 July 2021. The Bill also includes a transitional provision to enable magistrates between the age of 70 and 75 on commencement of the new mandatory retirement age to apply to return to the bench, subject to business need. The process by which such applications are to be made and considered will be set out in the autumn and we will be contacting eligible retired magistrates to invite them to express their interest in re-joining the bench.

Court Orders

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will provide a list of relevant orders and the type of conviction that leads to each said order.

Chris Philp: On conviction of an offence in the Crown Court or a magistrates' court, the court may impose orders on the offender. These are known as ancillary orders. Some ancillary orders are aimed at redressing the harm caused by an offender, others aim to prevent future re-offending or repeat victimisation. In certain situations, the court must impose an ancillary order, in other situations it is up to the court to decide whether an ancillary order is appropriate or necessary, taking into account the circumstances of the offence and the offender. Sentencing guidelines, issued by the independent Sentencing Council, identify ancillary orders that are particularly likely to be relevant to individual offences. Further information on ancillary orders, including a non-exhaustive list of such orders, is available on the Council’s website at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/explanatory-material/magistrates-court/item/ancillary-orders/1-introduction-to-ancillary-orders/

Khairi Saadallah

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress the review has made on the handling and supervision of Khairi Saadallah.

Alex Chalk: This was a terrible crime, and the Court imposed a whole life order on Khairi Saadallah. The Probation Service has completed a Serious Further Offence (SFO) review into how Saadallah was managed, which has been shared with those bereaved relatives and surviving victims who requested it. The SFO review identified some improvement actions in relation to risk assessment practice and case recording, which are being delivered as part of a formal action plan. Additionally, there was a review into how we can more effectively support terrorism-risk offenders with mental health problems and so better address risk. The findings are aligned with the Rapid Review of Mental Health Provision for Offenders, commissioned by the Criminal Justice Task Force. An independent reviewer is also undertaking a Serious Case Review looking at how the relevant agencies worked together under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) to manage the risk he posed.

Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many meetings (a) he has and (b) Ministers of his Department have had with the operator of Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre since inspectors issued an Urgent Notification in respect of that Centre in December 2020.

Alex Chalk: Following the invoking of the Urgent Notification protocol at Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre (STC) last December, Ministers called an urgent meeting with senior representatives from the provider MTC. HMPPS officials were then instructed to deploy to Rainsbrook to scrutinise actions taken by MTC in response to the Urgent Notification. Subsequent meetings were conducted between officials, with regard to monitoring the Urgent Notification action plan. As this is a contracted service the YCS/HMPPS contract management and commercial teams have met internally and with MTC on a regular basis. We ordered the provider to take the immediate action necessary to address the unacceptable failings at Rainsbrook, including a focus on ensuring all children in the Reverse Cohorting Unit had a suitable amount of time out of their room. Whilst inspectors acknowledged that this issue had been addressed, and that the Youth Custody Service had strengthened its oversight of the STC, a second Urgent Notification was invoked on 18 June following a full inspection of the centre with reference to separate serious concerns. We have now transferred all children from Rainsbrook to alternative appropriate accommodation. Separately, we are also considering the future of the centre, with a further announcement to be made on this position in due course following conclusion of the current commercial matters.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Israel: Palestinians

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support peace between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

James Cleverly: Following the ceasefire announcement, the Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 25 and 26 May for talks with senior leaders. The Foreign Secretary met former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and reiterated the UK's firm commitment to the two-state solution. We have a regular dialogue with the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The Foreign Secretary and Ministers have also engaged regional partners, including with Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. The Foreign Secretary made it clear that the UK would continue to work with the parties, and other actors, to encourage a durable ceasefire and to urge them to address the drivers of conflict.

Saudi Arabia: Capital Punishment

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to advocate for children in Saudi Arabia who are at risk of execution as a result of partaking in democratic resistance; and what steps he took to support Mustafa Al-Darwish before he was executed.

James Cleverly: The United Kingdom strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. The Saudi authorities are aware of the UK Government's strong position on such cases. We reiterated our opposition to the death penalty in Saudi Arabia in a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 15 September 2020. On 24 May 2021, during my visit to Saudi Arabia, I discussed the death penalty, including those charged with conducting crimes as minors, with the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, Dr Awwad Alawwad. The British Embassy Riyadh raised our concerns regarding Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish with the Saudi authorities ahead of, and following, his execution.

Yemen: Food Supply

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle increasing hunger in Yemen as a result of the covid-19 pandemic and continued conflict.

James Cleverly: The UK has committed £87 million to Yemen for 2021/22 which will address food insecurity and support nutrition. This includes feeding 240,000 of the most vulnerable Yemenis every month and supporting 1.5 million of the most vulnerable households with additional cash assistance to allow them to buy food and basic supplies and support 400 health centres. Globally the UK has committed £548 million to COVAX, which has allocated 2.3 million vaccines to Yemen. We also continue to work with donors, the UN and NGOs to lobby the parties to lift access restrictions and ensure humanitarian aid reaches those who most need it in Yemen.

Israel: Gaza

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Egyptian and Israeli counterparts on a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

James Cleverly: During the recent conflict, the UK urged the parties to engage with mediators. We fully supported Egyptian, Qatari and UN efforts towards a ceasefire, working closely with the US. As the Prime Minister has made clear, leaders in the region must now work to find a durable solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict that prevents terrorism, ends the cycle of violence, and delivers a sustainable and just peace based on a two state solution.

Gulf States: Foreign Relations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to (a) help ensure security and (b) promote the UK’s economic interests in the Gulf.

James Cleverly: The Government works closely with all our friends in the Gulf to strengthen our shared security and prosperity interests, including through dialogue to promote regional stability, initiatives to tackle illicit finance and terrorism, and defence cooperation.Britain has strong bilateral trading relationships with the Gulf and it is already one of our largest export destinations, with total trade of over £30 billion in 2020. We are committed to broadening and deepening our shared economic interests further, including through government-to-government trade dialogues, and also within specific sectors following conclusion of the UK-GCC Joint Trade and Investment Review.

Integrated Activity Fund

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to increase oversight and transparency of UK funding through the Integrated Activity Fund of institutions in (a) Saudi Arabia and (b) Bahrain.

James Cleverly: The FCDO's International Programme (IP), and within it the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF), is a vital tool in promoting positive change and reforms across the world, including in the Gulf. Our programmes help our partners to continue their human rights reform, address key climate change and green growth opportunities and challenges, tackle illicit finance, improve marine conservation, promote economic diversification, promote diversity and inclusion including on LGBTQ+ rights, and develop their institutions.All cooperation through the IP, including the GSF, is subject to rigorous risk assessments to ensure all work meets our human rights obligations and our values. The Government does not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns, and encourages other states to respect international law.We now publish an annual summary of the GSF's work on gov.uk. We will not publish further information where doing so presents risks to our staff, programme suppliers and beneficiaries, or which may impact our relationships with our international partners, and therefore our ability to influence their reform efforts. We will provide updates on an annual basis.

Turkey: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent to which democratic freedoms have been curtailed in Turkey since the 2016 coup d’etat attempt.

Wendy Morton: We are aware that certain measures adopted under a state of emergency following the attempted coup in 2016 have since been enshrined in law. These include pre-trial detention, freedom of expression and restrictions on civil society. It is important that the long-term response to the 2016 coup attempt is lawful, measured and democratic. The right to freedom of expression should be protected and Turkey's international obligations upheld. I raised human rights with my Turkish counterpart during my visit to Turkey in June.

USAID

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a readout of his recent call with Samantha Power, Administrator of the US Agency for International Development.

Wendy Morton: The Foreign Secretary spoke with USAID Administrator, Samantha Power on 19 July. They discussed a number of shared foreign policy and international development priorities, including Afghanistan, the humanitarian crisis in Tigray, our shared agenda to increase green investment in infrastructure, and global vaccine supply. The Foreign Secretary also underlined the UK's desire to see a strong US contribution to the Global Partnership for Education ahead of the replenishment summit hosted jointly by the Prime Minister and President Kenyatta of Kenya on 29 July in London.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Flags

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his Department's policy to fly the Commonwealth flag all year round from his Department's main building in Whitehall.

Nigel Adams: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will fly the Commonwealth flag for a week in March 2022 to mark Commonwealth Day, as well as for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. It is not our practice to fly on a permanent basis the flags of organisations of which the UK is a member.

Nepal: Coronavirus

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to recent calls to the international community from the Prime Minister of Nepal, if he will commit to leading on getting 40 million vaccine doses to Nepal in the coming months.

Nigel Adams: The UK's G7 Presidency in June championed equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics and confirmed the UK will share 100 million vaccines over the next year, 30 million of those by the end of 2021. We are currently reviewing which countries will receive donations, though at least 80% of the vaccines shared will go to COVAX. The UK is a leading donor to COVAX, the multilateral mechanism set up to support international co-operation on vaccines, having committed £548 million to the scheme. COVAX has delivered over 1,800,000 doses to Nepal so far with further tranches on the way. COVAX remains best-placed to allocate vaccines to where they will be most effective. As shareholders and contributors to both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the UK has also pushed hard for multilateral organisations to provide finance to countries for vaccine procurement, including Nepal. The World Bank has now made at least $75 million available to the Government of Nepal for that purpose; a further $165 million will soon be proposed to the board of the Asian Development Bank, which the UK will also support.

Nepal: Coronavirus

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the UK will donate at least five million covid-19 vaccine doses to Nepal in the next three months to lead a global plan to get the 40 million vaccine doses required urgently in that country.

Nigel Adams: The UK's G7 Presidency in June championed equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics and confirmed the UK will share 100 million vaccines over the next year, 30 million of those by the end of 2021. We are currently reviewing which countries will receive donations, though at least 80% of the vaccines shared will go to COVAX. The UK is a leading donor to COVAX, the multilateral mechanism set up to support international co-operation on vaccines, having committed £548 million to the scheme. COVAX has delivered over 1,800,000 doses to Nepal so far with further tranches on the way. COVAX remains best-placed to allocate vaccines to where they will be most effective. As shareholders and contributors to both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the UK has also pushed hard for multilateral organisations to provide finance to countries for vaccine procurement, including Nepal. The World Bank has now made at least $75 million available to the Government of Nepal for that purpose; a further $165 million will soon be proposed to the board of the Asian Development Bank, which the UK will also support.

Ministry of Defence

Merlin Helicopters: Early Warning Systems

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) Initial Operating Capability, (b) Full Operating Capacity and (c) out of service date is for Crowsnest.

Jeremy Quin: The contracted Initial Operating Capability functionality was originally forecast for March 2020 and was not achieved, however the Initial Release to Service was achieved in February 2021 which enabled Crowsnest fitted aircraft to deploy with Carrier Strike Group 2021. The Crowsnest programme is currently undergoing a schedule review to agree new milestones. The out-of-service date for Crowsnest is currently planned to be 2029.

Wrecks: Protection

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using underwater drones to protect sunken Royal Navy ships.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding he has allocated to projects that protect and monitor sunken Royal Navy ships from scavengers in the last three years.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the joint provision of underwater drones to monitor wrecks of sunken Royal Navy warships.

Leo Docherty: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) considers the wrecks of many Royal Navy ships to be the final resting place of Service personnel, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and should be allowed to rest in peace. The Royal Navy is accelerating its drive towards un-crewed and fully autonomous capabilities for the underwater, surface and air environments, and is exploring as part of its future capability planning work the operational opportunities new technologies provide. No formal discussions have taken place with the US Government regarding the joint provision of underwater drones to monitor the wrecks of Royal Navy warships.

Ministry of Defence: Email

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he or any Ministers of his Department use personal email addresses to conduct Government business.

Leo Docherty: Ministers will use a range of digital forms of communication for discussions in line with relevant guidance on information handling and security. Ministry of Defence Security Policy states that, as a general rule, government information should be processed and stored on government systems, both for security reasons and to preserve the integrity of public records. Consequently, it should not normally be worked on using private email addresses.

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many qualified financial officers are employed by his Department.

Leo Docherty: As at the end of March 2021 there were c2,800 people in the finance profession of which 1,211 have a finance qualification. In this instance a finance qualification is defined as either: CCAB/CIMA (Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies/Chartered Institute of Management Accountants). This is a Level 7/Masters equivalent or;A level 4 finance qualification (HNC equivalent) accredited to an Accountancy Institute

Military Aircraft: In-flight Refuelling

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what air-to-air refuelling method is used by the RAF aircraft (a) P-8A, (b) E-7, (c) RC-135W and (d) C-17.

Jeremy Quin: The Poseidon MRA1, RC-135W Rivet Joint and C-17 are fitted with receptacles which can allow for the boom air-to-air refuelling system. This will also be fitted to the E-7 Wedgetail when it enters RAF service.

AWACS: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the E-7 Delivery Team Leader at Defence Equipment and Support informed the senior responsible owner that the E-7 Wedgetail project was at risk.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the senior responsible owner of the E-7 Wedgetail contract informed him that that project was at risk.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Permanent Secretary of his Department was informed that the E-7 Wedgetail project was at risk.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Minister for Defence Procurement was informed that the E-7 Wedgetail project was at risk.

Jeremy Quin: The E-7 Wedgetail Programme reports regularly to Ministry of Defence senior staff and Ministers through internal major project reporting systems and governance structures, including programme risks. These quarterly reports have been made since the Programme's inception in 2018.

AWACS: Procurement

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the revised acquisition cost is of the three E-7 Wedgetail aircraft proposed for purchase under the Integrated Review 2021.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2021 to Question 175732 to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones).AWACS: Procurement (docx, 13.8KB)

AWACS and Boeing E-3

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the date on which the (a) last E-3D sentry aircraft will be retired from operational service and (b) first E-7 Wedgetail will achieve initial operating capacity in Royal Air Force service.

Jeremy Quin: We will retire the E-3D Sentry from operational service later in 2021, as part of the transition to the more modern and more capable fleet of three E-7 Wedgetail aircraft, which are expected to enter service in December 2023. The United Kingdom remains part of the NATO AEW&C Force Headquarters.

Devonport Dockyard: Radioactive Waste

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any Ministers of his Department approved the submission of the application for HM Naval Base Devonport to release radioactive rainwater into the river Tamar before that application was submitted to the Environment Agency.

Jeremy Quin: Ministry of Defence Ministers noted a submission informing them of Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport's intention to apply to the Environment Agency (EA) to vary the disposal method for a low-level liquid radioactive waste stream on 17 May 2021, letters were sent to local constituency MPs informing them that the application will be made on 18 May and HMNB Devonport’s formal application to the EA was made on 22 June 2021.

Defence Equipment: Communication

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which military platforms in service are equipped with Multifunction Advanced Data Link.

Jeremy Quin: The Multifunction Advanced Data Link is used by Lightning aircraft. The Lightning Force can also communicate with wider Link 16 datalinks used by a wide variety of assets including other frontline fast jet forces and Type 45 Destroyers. Defence Digital and the Rapid Capabilities Office are undertaking work on new forms of secure communications and NEXUS combat cloud technology to 'digitise the battlespace'. Through this work, we will ensure seamless and secure connectivity between the existing operational technology and datalinks on our fighting platforms via our secure digital infrastructure, to ultimately, enable the integration of military forces across land, sea, air, cyber and space domains.

RAF Lossiemouth: AWACS

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the capital costs are of basing the E-7 Wedgetail aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth.

Jeremy Quin: Elements of Wedgetail specific new-build technical facilities at RAF Lossiemouth will be considered as part of the future maintenance and sustainment contracts for the fleet. This remains subject to commercial negotiation and I am withholding internal Ministry of Defence estimates due to commercial sensitivity. However I can confirm that the Wedgetail aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth will achieve significant capital synergy through their co-location with the Boeing P-8 Poseidon, which will permit efficiencies in technical infrastructure (primarily in the logistics, engineering support and training delivery spaces).

Department for Work and Pensions

Vacancies

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with the recruitment sector on (a) providing sufficient workforce for businesses and (b) tackling the increasing vacancy level.

Mims Davies: The Department is continuing to work with a number of other Government Departments, Devolved Authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as sector and trade bodies to fill vacancies in sectors experiencing labour shortages, offering training for those who need it, and securing jobs directly for those ready to move into roles. We regularly meet with stakeholders such as the Recruitment Employers Confederation (REC) and the Federation of Small Business (FSB) to discuss recruitment. The Department’s National Employer and Partnership Team work collaboratively with a number of recruitment agencies across the UK, notably Manpower, Capita, Reed, Adecco and Staffline. Each of these accounts have a dedicated Senior National Account Manager to support them. The National Employer and Partnership Team also work closely with the Recruitment Employers Confederation (REC) who are the Trade Body for the sector. All of the recruitment agencies are employing people direct, and all are reporting high levels of vacancies, including permanent jobs. The National Employer and Partnership Team work closely with the agencies to promote their opportunities to the department’s growing network of Jobcentre Plus. Recent examples are Adecco recruiting for Amazon across the UK, who are placing opportunities with local jobcentres in a variety of locations. Capita are also recruiting for Go – Centric who have 1500 contact centre opportunities across the UK.

Vacancies

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help supply workforce for sectors experiencing labour shortages, including (a) HGV driving, (b) hospitality, (c) tourism, (d) construction and (d) agriculture, as reported by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

Mims Davies: The Department is continuing to work with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Transport, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Devolved Authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as other Government Departments to fill vacancies in haulage, hospitality, construction, agriculture, tourism and other sectors experiencing labour shortages. We are working collaboratively to offer training for those who need it and secure jobs directly for those ready to move into roles.We have worked with key Trade Associations and industry partners across high demand sectors to develop relationships that utilise DWP’s Jobcentre Plus network, fosters strong local links between employers and work coaches, and gives jobseekers the skills and knowledge they need to enter the sector.We are working with industry to provide our Work Coaches with the key knowledge they need to identify suitable candidates and to develop relationships with key employers and stakeholders in their local areas. As a result, local Jobcentres are now directly connecting with employers in their area, to discuss their recruitment needs and to offer advice on the support available, including work trials, work experience and sector based work academies.Two websites, JobHelp and Employer Help, were launched last year by DWP in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. JobHelp offers job search advice, showcases recruiting sectors and signposts to job vacancies to help people successfully find work. DWP continues to work with industry and sector bodies to collaborate on content that promotes working in recruiting sectors, including the haulage sector for JobHelp,In hospitality, DWP is working closely with key employers and trade associations such as UK Hospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association to promote opportunities in the hospitality sector to DWP customersDWP is also helping jobseekers become HGV drivers to alleviate current shortages. DWP continues to work with DfT on additional measures to support the haulage and logistics sector and to support jobseekers into sustainable, long-term employment. For example, DWP’s driver training pilot is underway, as part of the wider Road to Logistics scheme that supports people to become HGV drivers and we encourage industry to access their local Jobcentre Plus network to take advantage of the range of support on offer.To support agricultural recruitment, DWP is supporting Defra to develop and deliver a long-term recruitment strategy that supports the domestic workforce into both seasonal and long-term roles in the agriculture sector.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Plastics: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of food contamination on the recyclability of flexible plastic waste.

Rebecca Pow: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has produced guidance for local authorities to tackle the problems of contamination in recycling, which can be found here: wrap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-05/WRAP-Tackling-contamination-dry-recycling-May2021.pdf. WRAP also produces the Recycling Tracker which is the largest and longest running survey on recycling attitudes, values and behaviours. The surveys can be found at this link: https://wrap.org.uk/resources/report/recycling-tracker-report-2020-behaviours-attitudes-and-awareness-around-recycling.The Government wants to see the recycling of plastic film increased and plastic films included into the plastic recyclable waste stream for consistent collections. We have worked with stakeholders across the plastic packaging value chain to gather evidence on the issues related to introducing plastic films into kerbside collections, including food contamination. In our recent consultation on 'Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England, we sought views on best practice around the separate collection of plastic films, to include guidance on this recognising that ideally plastic films would be segregated from other recyclable materials within the plastics waste stream to facilitate easier sorting and reduce contamination. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and gathering further evidence around issues relating to material quality, sorting, reprocessing and contamination to include in best practice guidance.

Air Pollution: Greater London

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of air quality in (a) London and (b) Putney constituency.

Rebecca Pow: The Mayor of London is responsible for air quality in the capital and has reserve powers under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to reflect this. As part of these responsibilities the Mayor of London carries out monitoring of air quality in London. Local authorities are required to review and assess local air quality and in London they report their data to the Mayor. The London Air Quality Network provides data on air quality in London accessible to the public. Air pollution has reduced significantly since 2010 – emissions of nitrogen oxides are at their lowest level since records began. We are continuing to deliver our ambitious plans to improve air quality. To tackle local nitrogen dioxide exceedances, we are providing £880 million to help local authorities develop and implement local air quality plans and to support those impacted by these plans. Our Clean Air Strategy set out an ambitious programme of action to reduce air pollution from a wide range of sources. Our Environment Bill delivers key parts of this Strategy and makes a clear commitment to set a legally binding target to reduce fine particulate matter and enables local authorities to take more effective action to tackle air pollution in their areas.

Air Pollution: Coronavirus

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the effect of air quality on (a) death and (b) infection from covid-19; and when such discussions occurred.

Rebecca Pow: Defra continues to hold extensive discussions with the Department for Health and Social Care on the relationship between air quality and health. These have included the specific relationship between air quality and covid-19 transmission, infections and deaths. In response to Defra's call for evidence on COVID-19 and air quality (April 2020 and published in June 2020), the scientific community and appointed experts from Defra and Public Health England (PHE) considered the possible link between air quality and COVID-19 infection. They concluded that there was no clear empirical evidence of a link at that stage:2007010844_Estimation_of_Changes_in_Air_Pollution_During_COVID-19_outbreak_in_the_UK.pdf (defra.gov.uk) Officials and appointed experts from Defra, PHE and the Office for National Statistics delivered a project to describe the relationship between air pollution exposure and COVID-19 deaths. The results and methodology were shared with the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), and a summary of the findings were published in August 2020 at the following URL:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ons-air-pollution-and-covid-19-mortality-rates-in-england-6-august-2020  The methodology used in this analysis project was also published at the following URL:https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/methodologies/coronaviruscovid19relatedmortalityratesandtheeffectsofairpollutioninengland  The Departments continue to actively engage on a regular basis.

Waste Management: Finance

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish the formula for new burdens funding for the proposed changes to waste management.

Rebecca Pow: The Government will ensure that local authorities are resourced to meet any new burdens arising from our collections and packaging reforms, including up front transition costs and ongoing operational costs. We are working to assess net additional costs to local authorities, in line with the new burden’s doctrine. We will engage with the Local Government Association on these cost estimates, including the appropriate timing for funding to be provided to authorities. We will share information on cost estimates and funding timelines with local authorities in due course.

Compost: Plastics

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of compostable plastics on reducing the plastic contamination of (a) soil and (b) the sea.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will further explore the feasibility of developing (a) compostable plastics and (b) other innovative and sustainable methods of waste disposal to reduce the amount of non-biodegradable conventional single-use flexible plastic produced.

Rebecca Pow: Ideally we want to tackle litter of all kinds, including plastics, to stop them from being released in the natural environment in the first place. Furthermore, when littered in the open environment, compostable plastics will typically behave similarly to conventional plastics. Indeed, a plastic product that is designed to degrade or disintegrate more rapidly may accelerate the production of microplastic fragments. This is because the existing standard that applies to industrial composting, BS EN 13432, is only effective if the compostable plastic is collected and sent to an appropriate treatment facility.Therefore, until the appropriate infrastructure is in place across the country to accept compostable plastics, the government's preference is that they are used in closed loop systems where no reusable or recyclable options are available; and with appropriate collection and disposal arrangements in place. We recommend that businesses consult available guidance and evidence summaries on this to help assess if this may be the case for their intended purpose. In accordance with the waste hierarchy, our current preference remains that most plastics are reusable or recyclable.As set out in our response to the call for evidence on Standards for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics, published in April 2021, we want to ensure that innovation in the plastics industry continues but it is vital to ensure that new materials really are more sustainable than conventional plastics and other alternatives. As already highlighted, concerns persist that plastics which are claimed to be biodegradable, if littered or otherwise released into the environment in an uncontrolled way, may not degrade quickly or even at all.The Government has invested nearly £100 million into research and innovation to tackle the issues that arise from plastic waste. £20 million was set aside through the Plastics Research and Innovation Fund, the last funding competition of which opened in June 2020. The Resource Action Fund included £10 million specifically to pioneer innovative approaches to boosting recycling and reducing litter. The Government has also announced £60 million of funding through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, alongside a £150 million investment from industry, towards the development of smart, sustainable plastic packaging (SSPP), which will aim to make the UK a world leader in sustainable packaging for consumer products. Two SSPP funding opportunities have been open for bids in 2021: the SSPP Demonstrator Round 2 and the SSPP business-led research and development competition.Additionally, the UK Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge funded by the Government has recently invested £20 million into four plastic reprocessing facilities in the UK to support the development of new technologies to recycle plastic waste. These projects will increase domestic reprocessing capacity. Three of these projects include the development of chemical recycling plants which turn plastic waste back into oil which can be used to replace virgin oil for use in new plastic products.

Waste Disposal

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of giving local authorities increased powers to direct waste producers, including property managers for properties with shared services, to sort waste appropriately.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to increase local authority powers to recover the full costs from waste producers and property managers of collecting and disposing of the contents of a contaminated bin and other failures to follow a reasonable requirement to separate waste for recycling.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to increase local authority powers to direct property managers to make suitable provision for waste storage within properties they manage, including for separate collection of recyclable materials, where such decisions are not directly in the control of residents.

Rebecca Pow: In respect of household waste, local authorities already have powers under section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) to serve a notice requiring an occupier to put their waste for collection in a specified kind and number of receptacles. Clause 57(5) of the Environment Bill amends section 46(2) of the EPA so that, subject to it being reasonable, an English waste collection authority (WCA) may require separate receptacles or compartments of receptacles to be used for the purposes of complying with its duties under new section 45A or 45AZA. This would mean that an English WCA can require different recyclable waste streams to be put in different receptacles. A person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any requirements imposed by section 46 shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. An authorised officer may issue a fixed penalty notice under section 47ZA of the EPA to enable a person to discharge any liability to conviction for the offence. If a person has failed to comply with a section 46 requirement, WCAs can also give a written notice under section 46A of the EPA if the failure has caused or is or was likely to cause a nuisance or has been or is or was likely to be detrimental to any amenities of the locality. If a written warning gets ignored, they can issue a financial penalty under section 46B. They also are not required to collect the waste if it is put out in contravention of a section 46 requirement. Regarding household waste from non-domestic premises and relevant waste (which is commercial and industrial waste, which is similar in nature and composition to household waste), the Environment Bill requires that the person that presents waste for collection under the arrangements must present it separated in accordance with the arrangements (which must comply with the requirements in the Environment Bill). This would therefore include the waste producer but also a property manager if they were presenting the waste on behalf of a number of properties. Under section 47 of the Environmental Protection Act, a WCA may already serve a notice against a business if their waste is not stored in receptacles of a particular kind and it is likely to cause a nuisance or to be detrimental to the amenities of the locality. Clause 57(6) of the Environment Bill amends s47(3) of the EPA so that WCAs can require separate receptacles or compartments to be used for the purposes of complying with the requirements in new s45AZB. We are not currently planning on amending this legislation to change the powers that local authorities have. Our consultation on 'Consistency in Household and Business Recycling,' recently closed and we are considering responses to our proposals on the detail around enforcement.

Waste Management

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that changes to waste management reflect differing local contexts including (a) availability of space for waste storage, (b) differing collection frequency needs and (c) difficulties in separating food waste in areas where residents predominantly live in flats; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities are empowered to make adjustments in accordance with those contexts.

Rebecca Pow: We want to make recycling easier and ensure that there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England. The Environment Bill stipulates that all local authorities in England must make arrangements for a core set of materials to be collected for recycling from households. This core set includes paper and card; plastic; glass; metal; food waste and garden waste. Local authorities can still decide to collect the recyclable waste streams co-mingled (i.e. multiple waste streams collected together) in cases where it is not technically or economically practicable to collect the recyclable waste streams separately from each other, or there is no significant environmental benefit in doing so, subject to completing a written assessment. The only exception to this is that food and garden waste must always be collected separately from the dry recyclable waste streams. Local authorities may apply these exceptions in circumstances where there is a lack of available storage space to collect recycling streams separately – including blocks of flats. We have recently consulted on plans to develop further guidance on written exemptions and best practice for local authorities. This guidance will take into consideration views provided by stakeholders during our recent public consultation. Local authorities will also maintain the ability to decide the frequency of recyclable waste collections, except for food waste which will need to be separately collected on a weekly basis. Finally, local authorities will be provided with new burdens funding to support adjustments to their waste collection services necessitated by our reforms. We are working to assess the net additional costs of our reforms as provided in the Impact Assessment accompanying our second public consultation on recycling consistency. As part of this process we will engage with local authorities to consider the appropriate nature and timing of funding.

Plastics: Waste

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of flexible plastic waste using sustainable methods.

Rebecca Pow: The Government wants to see the reduction in plastic waste, and where plastic waste still exists, to increase the recycling of plastic film and flexibles. In our 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy, we outlined out intention to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste throughout the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan (by 2042).We have recently undertaken a second consultation on introducing extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging. This would see producers required to pay the costs of managing the packaging they place on the market including when it becomes waste. It also proposed that producers' fees will be varied so that those who use unrecyclable or difficult to recycle packaging such as flexible plastics would be required to pay higher fees. This will incentivise producers to consider their packaging choice.In addition, we proposed that where producers see a need for additional investment to increase recycling and meet recycling targets under Packaging EPR, they could choose to raise further funding through the scheme. For example, to upgrade sorting and recycling infrastructure so that more types of film plastics can be recycled.In our recently published second consultation on 'Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England,' we consulted on proposals to include plastic films and flexible packaging in household collection services by the end of the financial year 2026/27. We also consulted on proposals to introduce plastic films and flexible packaging into business collection services by the end of the financial year 2024/25.We are now analysing the responses that were received in response to these consultations and will publish our response in due course.

Ivory: Trade

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) list the designated ports responsible for checking musical instrument certificates under CITES and (b) confirm whether those ports are all currently operational.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether musicians travelling to the UK from the EU with instruments that have CITES requirements must travel through CITES designated points of entry and exit.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether musicians travelling to the UK from the EU with instruments that have CITES requirements can travel using (a) the Eurotunnel and (b) other roll-on roll-off services.

Rebecca Pow: Any musical instruments covered by CITES controls must be imported or exported through one of the 36 designated land, sea and airports which are all currently operational. The up to date list of the ports is available on the following GOV.UK page: www.gov.uk/guidance/trading-cites-listed-specimens-through-uk-ports-and-airports.

Clean Air Zones: Bradford

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons he imposed a charging clean air zone in Bradford.

Rebecca Pow: Air pollution is a major public health risk and is a particular threat to vulnerable groups including the elderly and those with chronic respiratory and heart diseases. The mortality burden of the air pollution mixture based on both PM2.5 and NO2 in the UK is an effect equivalent to 28,000 to 36,000 deaths (Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, 2018).Under the 2017 UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations and its further Supplement in 2018, 61 local authorities were directed to develop plans for delivering NO2 compliance in the shortest possible time. Bradford was identified in the 2018 supplement as having roads exceeding legal levels for NO2, and since then has been working on a local plan to identify and implement measures to address these exceedances in the shortest possible time to safeguard public health.As the 2017 plan sets out, it is for local authorities to determine what the appropriate solution is for tackling NO 2 concentrations, reflecting the highly localised nature of the problem. In some cases, local authorities will determine that a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is the intervention required. However, given the potential impacts on individuals and businesses, when considering between equally effective alternatives to deliver compliance, Government has been consistently clear that if a local authority can identify measures other than charging zones that are at least as effective at reducing NO2 to legal levels but with less of an impact, those measures should be preferred. Any alternative will need to deliver compliance as quickly as a charging CAZ if it is to be preferred for inclusion in the plans which local authorities develop.Having gone through a detailed business case development process following guidance provided by the Government's Joint Air Quality Unit, Bradford has identified that a Class C Clean Air Zone is needed in order to deliver the legal obligation to tackle NO2 exceedances in the shortest possible time. Government considered the business case submitted by Bradford earlier this year and has accepted Bradford's evidence that a class C CAZ is required. As part of this approvals process, the business case and supporting evidence were considered by an independent technical panel established to review the evidence submitted by local authorities to support their proposals. The Government is now working with Bradford on the implementation of the CAZ and has also provided Bradford with £31 million from the Clean Air Fund to help local businesses and individuals adapt to the CAZ, including grants to help upgrade vehicles.

Rivers: Pollution and Sewage

Sally-Ann Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the compliance limits set for waste water and sewage effluent being released into rivers and streams in response to the recent fines levied against Southern Water for illegally discharging sewage into rivers and coastal waters.

Rebecca Pow: The investigation and subsequent prosecution of Southern Water focused on unlawful discharges of sewage through the storm system thus bypassing full treatment at Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) and discharging to the environment in non-storm conditions. The sites all discharged either directly into, or in close proximity to, designated shellfish waters off the North Kent coast, around the Solent, and Langstone and Chichester Harbours.During the current water company investment round (2020 - 2025), water companies are required to install overflow operation monitors on storm overflows at around 3500 WwTW, including Southern Water WwTWs, along with Flow Passed Forward Flow monitors. Permits will be reviewed and conditions tightened to afford even greater levels of scrutiny and environmental protection. The data from these monitors will be used to assess compliance with permit Flow Passed Forward Flow limits when overflows operate. As well as ensuring that the required flows are passed forward for full treatment through the WwTW when the overflow operates, the monitors will also be used by the Environment Agency to check that the overflows only operate within permit requirements of rainfall and snowmelt.The Government is pushing forward in working towards improving the state of the water environment by setting robust and ambitious water quality targets within the Environment Bill. Alongside these targets the Government will consider the policy levers required to meet the targets, including taking further action to tackle sources of water pollution.

Cats: Diseases

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) tackle the recent rise in cases of feline pancytopenia and (b) discover the source of that outbreak.

Victoria Prentis: Feline pancytopenia is an illness which causes a deficiency in blood cells and often, sadly, is fatal to cats. There has recently been a spike in cases in the UK, 521 as of 26/07/2021. Defra and its delivery body, the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA), the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Food Safety Scotland (FSS) and other government departments across all four nations are working with local authorities and the pet food supply chain to identify the cause of the rise. The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) alerted Defra, APHA and FSA of an emerging issue at the end of June 2021. The RVC followed with a call to vets for information to identify further cases and collect information on possible causes. Investigations have included the possibility of a link with specific cat food products and a precautionary product recall was undertaken by Fold Hill Foods Limited; FSA-PRIN-36-2021 was published on 15/06/2021 and an updated PRIN was issued on 17/06/2021. The cat food products subject to the product recall were not exported outside the UK although as a precaution, officials in Ireland and the EU were informed. Investigations continue and other causes for the increase still cannot yet be excluded. However, initial findings have identified a number of mycotoxins in the recalled batches of feed and the FSA’s current risk assessment is that mycotoxins found in the recalled cat food pose a feed safety risk. Evidence to confirm whether the mycotoxins found have caused this rise in cases of feline pancytopenia is being considered. Additionally, Defra and APHA are currently undertaking toxicological screening of a number of the affected cats, the results of which will be known in the coming weeks.

Animals: Euthanasia

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that injured animals are not made to travel unnecessarily far journeys in order to be euthanized.

Victoria Prentis: When animals are transported, their transportation must comply fully with legal requirements aimed at protecting their welfare. All animals must be fit for the intended journey. Veterinary advice should be sought prior to transport where there is any doubt about an animal's fitness to travel. It is an offence to transport animals in a way that will cause injury or unnecessary suffering.Local authorities carry out routine welfare checks on animals and their means of transport and will take appropriate enforcement measures up to and including prosecution if required, where the appropriate standards are not met.Earlier this year, the Government consulted on improvements to animal welfare during transport. We will shortly publish the response to the consultation which will outline how we will be seeking to improve standards of animal welfare in transport.

Food: Consumption

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote the consumption of more (a) local and (b) seasonal produce in England.

Victoria Prentis: We are committed to promoting healthy and sustainable diets, and the consumption of more locally grown and seasonal produce.Using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF) we encourage procurers to consider qualities such as organic, UK seasonally and locally sourced food. As we look to refresh the GBSF, we will consult on the balance our guidance should strike between these areas and nutritional aims. We are committed to introducing a revised GBSF by Summer 2022.Additionally, on 15 July, Henry Dimbleby published the second part of his independent review of the food system. The Government has committed to responding to the Review's recommendations in the form of a Food Strategy White Paper within six months. As part of the White Paper, the Government will consider how we can support people to access healthy and sustainable food, including more fruit and vegetables. The Government is committed to developing a food strategy that will support the development of a food system that is sustainable, resilient and affordable, support people to live healthy lives, and protect animal health and welfare.

Slaughterhouses: Animal Welfare

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that regulations protecting animals from unnecessary suffering are adequately enforced in abattoirs.

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve animal welfare conditions in abattoirs.

Victoria Prentis: The Government is committed to the highest standards of animal welfare when animals are slaughtered or killed and we have made CCTV mandatory in all slaughterhouses in England. Legislation sets out the main requirements to protect the welfare of animals when being slaughtered. In slaughterhouses, these requirements are monitored and enforced by Official Veterinarians of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to ensure that animals are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during the slaughter process. A service level agreement with the FSA is reviewed and agreed annually.We have a zero-tolerance approach to animal welfare breaches and all FSA staff are instructed to take prompt and proportionate enforcement where breaches are identified, including those identified through live and retrospective CCTV viewing. The FSA has checks and monitoring systems in place to ensure the correct action is taken by Official Veterinarians and ensure the very highest standards are maintained.Following a recent review[1] of the legislation protecting the welfare of animals at the time of killing and as part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are carefully considering a wide range of welfare at slaughter improvements that could be made and will consult in due course. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welfare-of-animals-at-the-time-of-killing-england-regulations-2015-post-implementation-review

Home Office

Counter-terrorism: Religious Buildings

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the impact on places of worship of the requirements of the Protect Duty; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mitigation measures for people in voluntary positions in places of worship and other organisations potentially required to comply with the Protect Duty.

Kevin Foster: The responses to the Protect Duty consultation, which closed on 2nd July, provides a basis for Government to consider the scope and requirements of the Protect Duty, alongside assessing the impacts on those parties potentially within scope. These considerations will also consider the potential for unintended consequences and indirect implications of introducing the Duty.The Government is mindful places of worship differ significantly in the nature of their function and operation from other locations potentially within the scope of the Protect Duty proposals. This is balanced against the threat posed by terrorism, and a need to ensure there are effective security measures at public places, regardless of their nature.The Government will be carefully considering the issues raised within the consultation and our engagement events, including those discussed with representatives of different faith communities, before considering next steps.

Crime and Violence: Young People

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to stop young people becoming involved in crime and violence.

Kit Malthouse: It is vitally important that we prevent young people from being drawn into violent crime. The Government understands the importance of tackling this issue from all angles – whether that is providing support to prevent young people from getting involved in crime, or providing the police with the tools they need to bring knife offenders to justice. Since 2018, we have invested £105.5m into multi-agency Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in 18 areas most affected by serious violence. The VRUs bring together local partners to deliver an effective, joined up approach to tackling violent crime and its drivers – and they have reached over 100,000 young people in their first year.We are investing up to £23m this year in new early intervention programmes that will help stop young people from being drawn into violence, and our Creating Opportunities Forum will provide meaningful employment-related opportunities and raise the aspirations of young people at risk of being drawn into serious violence and knife crime.In addition, our £200m 10 year Youth Endowment Fund is testing what works to divert young people away from serious violence.This year, we have provided an extra £30m this year for the police forces with the highest rates of serious violence in England and Wales. This funding is supporting the police to deter and disrupt knife crime in areas that need it most. However, we know there is still more to do. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill includes a duty on public sector bodies to take a joined-up approach to addressing serious violence; the requirement for local agencies to review the circumstances when an adult homicide takes place involving an offensive weapon; and Serious Violence Reduction Orders, which give the police the authority to stop and search known knife and weapons carriers.

Slavery: Victim Support Schemes

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many criminals and terrorists have been identified as applying for the support available to victims of modern slavery since 2016.

Victoria Atkins: There is more information on referrals available at: Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics UK, end of year summary 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)There is also information available on issues (including modern slavery) raised by people in immigration detention available at: Issues raised by people facing return in immigration detention - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

National Crime Agency: Expenditure

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much and what proportion of the National Crime Agency's budget has been spent on tackling economic crime in each of the last three years.

Kit Malthouse: The National Crime Agency (NCA)’s overall budget is distributed across the agency according to need and operational priority. As serious and organised crime threats change, the agency retains the ability to flex its resources to react. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of budget allocated to tackling economic crime as there are a number of agency wide capabilities and functions that all commands have access to. We are, however, able to provide the total expenditure by the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) which provides a partial figure of expenditure for our overall response to tackling economic crime.The NCA Annual Report and Accounts provide the following Gross Expenditure over the past three years:2018/19 - Gross expenditure for the Prosperity Command - £22.0m (Note the NECC was formally launched on 31 October 2018, before which the NCA’s Prosperity Command fulfilled some of the same functions. In the 2019/20 Annual Report, an apportionment of £6.7m in 2018/19 was made for the NECC.)2019/20 - Gross expenditure for the NECC - £30.0m2020/21 – Gross expenditure for the NECC - £35.5mAn important element of tackling economic crime and illicit finance is by denying criminals the benefit of their crimes. This disrupts organised crime groups and illicit finance flows and on this we have achieved some significant successes. The NCA’s success in denying criminal assets over the same three years totals £646.5m, which could have derived from any serious and organised crime threat. This demonstrates one element of our impact across all illicit finance for which we have readily available data.

National Crime Agency: Staff

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time equivalent staff have been employed by the National Crime Agency to tackle economic crime in each of the last three years.

Kit Malthouse: In terms of the operational response, the Agency has a wide range of capabilities and functions that operate across different threat areas including economic crime. We are unable to provide a figure for the number of full-time equivalent staff who have been employed by the National Crime Agency (NCA) to tackle economic crime for the past three years as many units contribute to the efforts in different and varying amounts.However, we are able to report on the number of staff within the Economic Crime Command which includes the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) and the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU).The following table contains the approximate number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff for the Economic Crime Command, UK Financial Intelligence Unit and NECC since 2018. This is therefore a partial figure that does not reflect, for example, officers in Intelligence and Investigations Commands who conduct work in this threat area. ECC (NECC and UKFIU) FTE (approximate)2019 FY end2402020 FY end3002021 FY end350 An important element of tackling economic crime and illicit finance is by denying criminals the benefit of their crimes. This disrupts organised crime groups and illicit finance flows and on this we have achieved some significant successes. The NCA’s success in denying criminal assets over the same three years totals £646.5m, which could have derived from any serious and organised crime threat. This demonstrates one element of our impact across all illicit finance for which we have readily available data.

Demonstrations: Greater London

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Government's policy is on protecting the right to protest in (a) London and (b) Parliament Square.

Kit Malthouse: The freedom to peacefully protest across the country is a fundamental right that this Government is proud to support. However, this Government will strengthen police powers to tackle non-violent protests that cause significant disruption to essential services. This is why we are introducing powers in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to establish a fair balance between the rights of protesters and the rights and freedoms of others.

Organised Crime

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate Sir Craig Mackey made of how much additional funding would be required to enable UK law enforcement to successfully tackle serious and organised crime.

Kit Malthouse: My department published the key findings of Sir Craig Mackey’s Review on 16 March 2021. The recent Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy set out the Government’s priorities for tackling serious and organised crime in response to Sir Craig’s Review, including strengthening the NCA and increasing regional and local policing capacity. We will assess future funding needed as part of the next spending review.

Offenders: Deportation

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to remove foreign national offenders.

Chris Philp: The Government is clear foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them.Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity and since January 2019 we have removed 7,985.For non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals, deportation will be pursued where it is conducive to the public good including where a person receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, commits an offence that caused serious harm or is a persistent offender. European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss citizens, and their family members, who are protected by the EU Withdrawal Agreement Act 2020 are considered for deportation on public policy and public security grounds where it concerns conduct (including any criminal convictions relating to it) committed on or before 31 December 2020.Our New Plan for Immigration and provisions in the Nationality and Borders Bill will make it easier to deport foreign criminals with no right to be in the UK and keep our citizens safe. Further information can be found in New Plan for Immigration: policy statement (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Asylum: Greek Islands

Stephen Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish information on which legal routes are available to asylum seekers in camps in Greece’s Aegean Islands who are seeking to be reunited with family in the UK.

Chris Philp: The UK already provides a safe and legal route to bring families together through its refugee family reunion policy. The current refugee family reunion policy allows a partner and children under 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country. Over 29,000 visas have been issued under this policy in the last 5 years. Under the family reunion policy, we do not restrict where someone has to be in order to make an application.As set out in the New Plan for Immigration, the Government committed to review safe and legal routes to the UK and has a statutory duty to conduct a public consultation on family reunion for UASC in the EU. We have now completed the consultation as part of the wider consultation on the New Plan for Immigration. We have carefully considered the responses and a report, laid in Parliament on 22 July 2021, on the outcome of the review of safe and legal routes confirms the UK wants to be bold and ambitious in the safe and legal routes it provides.New Plan for Immigration - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Human Trafficking

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle people smuggling.

Chris Philp: The Government stands resolute in its commitment to tackle Organised Immigration Crime (OIC). We continue to pursue the Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) who facilitate illegal travel to the UK and who exploit vulnerable migrants, knowingly putting people in life-threatening situations.In March 2021, the Government published the New Plan for Immigration containing provisions to establish legislation to deter illegal entry into the UK, thereby breaking the business model of criminal people smuggling networks and protecting the lives of those they endanger. In July 2021, the Government introduced this legislation through the Nationality and Borders Bill.We continue to take action against the highly dangerous and illegal entry methods facilitated by these gangss. Police patrols on French beaches and enhanced intelligence sharing between our security and law enforcement agencies has helped to prevent around 8,000 people from making the Channel crossing to the UK so far this yearThe Government has taken steps to tackle organised crime on social media platforms, reducing the space in which gangss operate. In March 2021, I met with the National Crime Agency and senior representatives from social media companies to discuss how they can more effectively tackle oraganised crime online and a planned approach is being finalised.Reinforcing this commitment, in June 2021 the Home Secretary wrote to CEOs of key social media companies urging them to do substantially more to proactively identify and remove posts promoting organised crime , particularly illegal Channel crossings.

Home Office: Email

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she or any of the Ministers of her Department use personal email addresses to conduct Government business.

Kevin Foster: Home Office Ministers have confirmed they do not use personal accounts to conduct government business.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Local Government: Buildings

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2021 to Question 29805 on Local Government: Coronavirus, what budget has been made available for enforcement activities in respect of ventilation of council-managed buildings in each of the last ten years;  what enforcement action has been taken in respect of ventilation of council-managed buildings in each of the last ten years; and when he most recently discussed the ventilation of council-managed buildings with (a) the Local Government Association, (b) other local government representative bodies and (c) trade unions recognised in English local government.

Luke Hall: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for enforcing health and safety law in council operated buildings.HSE allocates resources based on planned levels of activity to deliver it's published strategy and plans. It does not allocate budgets by specific risk areas such as business premises ventilation, but inspectors will take action to respond to poor ventilation if identified during regulatory activity.During the coronavirus pandemic, the risks associated with poor general ventilation in a workplace increased due to the risk of transmitting coronavirus. HSE has carried out more than 300,000 interventions since the start of the pandemic, to check how employers are implementing measures to reduce transmission of coronavirus at their sites, including whether employees are working in poorly ventilated spaces. Where contraventions are identified, HSE inspectors will take action to secure compliance by providing verbal advice, written correspondence or serving enforcement notices.HSE has also updated their guidance to support employers in addressing the issue of ventilation- www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation/index.htm.HSE does not collate information about enforcement action taken specifically in respect of ventilation in council managed buildings.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) continues to lead the Government's significant and regular engagement with councils and local government sector bodies including the Local Government Association to ensure information is getting to councils and that we are made aware of any areas of concern:Ministers host regular teleconferences for local government leaders, chief executives and local resilience forums, with other Ministers from across government also present to give updates and answer questions.MHCLG continues to discuss priorities and support measures with councils in each of the nine English regions.MHCLG hosts regular engagement with local government sector bodies.MHCLG's Local Government Bulletin - a daily email sent to over 5,500 local government stakeholders.Ministers from MHCLG regularly speak to and meet with Mayors, both bilaterally and as part of the M9 Group of Mayors.Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk.

Housing: Standards

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will bring the Future Homes Standard forward to 2023.

Christopher Pincher: The 2025 timeline delivers on our net zero commitments, while ensuring that new homes are delivered in sufficient numbers in the places that we need them, providing the good quality, warm homes that consumers expect, and continuing to keep energy bills low.However, we are not waiting until 2025 to take action. In the short term, we will be implementing an interim 2021 Part L uplift for new homes as swiftly as possible. This is a key stepping stone that will enable us to successfully implement the Future Homes Standard.We have also listened to calls for a swifter and more certain pathway to 2025 and our work on a full technical specification for the Future Homes Standard has been accelerated. We therefore intend to consult on this in 2023 and introduce the necessary legislation in 2024, ahead of full implementation of the Future Homes Standard in 2025.

Shared Ownership: Pets

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to help support pet ownership among those living in shared ownership properties.

Christopher Pincher: There is nothing within the Government's Shared Ownership model which prohibits pet ownership. Instead, decisions on pet ownership lie with the landlord and will be set out as part of people's lease agreements.Pet owners should, therefore, check the details of their lease with the relevant Shared Ownership provider prior to purchase. Help to Buy agents will be able to supply contact details for local Shared Ownership providers. A full list of Help to Buy agents can be found on the Government's Own Your Home website.The Government is in the process of introducing a new model of Shared Ownership that will be more consumer friendly, fairer and more accessible. As with the current version of Shared Ownership, there will be nothing within the new model that prohibits pet ownership.

Coal: Mining

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the environmental impact of the proposal to build a coal mine in Cumbria.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the compatibility of the proposal for a new coal mine to be built in Cumbria with the UK's upcoming role as President of the COP26 summit.

Christopher Pincher: A public inquiry, overseen by an independent Planning Inspector, is scheduled to begin in September. The inquiry will hear the evidence for and against the proposal, and once completed, the Inspector will prepare a report and recommendation for Ministers, based on that evidence. As this application will come before Ministers for decision it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.

Construction: Fraud

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps is he taking to tackle rogue contractors and builders.

Christopher Pincher: Through the Building Safety Bill and secondary legislation we are placing a duty on anyone carrying out design or building work on any building to ensure that they and the people they appoint are competent for their role, or are being appropriately trained and supervised. For high-rise buildings, the new regime will make sure there is someone clearly responsible for safety during the design, build and occupation of a high-rise building. The new Building Safety Regulator will provide enhanced oversight across all buildings, and enforce the new regulatory regime for higher-risk buildings.Where defective work is done despite these changes, the Building Safety Bill extends the limitation period under section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972, from six to 15 years, more than doubling the period of time for compensation claims to be brought for defective work following completion. The Bill also extends the scope of the Defective Premises Act to all work done on residential premises, not just the work to provide the dwelling in the first place.In addition, the existing Government endorsed TrustMark Scheme identifies local traders who have undergone independent checks for both trade competence and good trading practice, providing consumers with increased confidence and ability to choose registered businesses, including builders, who adhere to and maintain high standards.

Leasehold: Insulation

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what financial support he plans to make available to leaseholders in homes with unsafe cladding seeking to take legal action against the developers of their homes.

Christopher Pincher: The Government's proposed changes to the Defective Premises Act 1972 as part of the Building Safety Bill will more than double the time available to seek compensation for substandard building work from six to 15 years. These new measures will provide a legal route to redress that is not currently possible for hundreds of buildings, potentially benefitting thousands of leaseholders.The Government has been clear that those responsible must pay towards the cost of remediating defective buildings. It is fundamental that the industry that caused this issue contributes to setting things right. Some parts of the industry have done the right thing, funding remediation of serious historic defects, but this is not happening in all cases. In many cases, those who caused the problems are evading responsibility. That is why the Government is taking action, providing a route to redress so that those who caused these problems can be held accountable.Under the Defective Premises Act, compensation can be claimed by the person who originally commissioned the work, or by any person subsequently acquiring a 'legal or equitable interest' in the dwelling. This includes the freeholder of a block of flats, as well as leaseholders. The Government's position is that it is freeholders who are responsible for ensuring their buildings are safe, and that they should meet the costs of remediation without passing them on to leaseholders wherever possible.The Building Safety Bill further protects leaseholders by imposing a legal requirement on building owners to explore alternative ways to meet the cost of remediation works before passing these onto leaseholders, along with a requirement (in regulations) to provide evidence to leaseholders. Alternative sources of funding which must be explored before passing costs on include recovering costs from applicable warranty schemes, or from the developers or contractors who were responsible for the defects. Claims under the Defective Premises Act are one additional route that we expect building owners to explore, and our reforms will extend that option to hundreds of blocks where it is not currently possible.

Building Safety Fund

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the average time from an application to the Building Safety Fund proceeding to the second stage to funds being released to the building owner.

Christopher Pincher: Detailed information on the Building Safety Fund application process and estimated timelines can be found in the Building Safety Fund application guidance available at: www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#building-safety-fund-application-process.It is the responsibility of the applicant to submit correctly completed applications as soon as possible. The quicker an applicant submits their application correctly, the quicker their application will be processed. A poorly completed full application will result in delays.

Housing: Construction

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the Government plans to publish its response to the raising accessible housing standards consultation that concluded on 1 December 2020.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether all new homes will be required to meet the accessible and adaptable standard following the consultation on raising accessibility standards for new homes, which concluded on 1 December 2020.

Christopher Pincher: I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 18 June to Question UIN 13060.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Written Questions

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to reply to (a) Question 24213 tabled on 29 June 2021 and (b) Question 27175 tabled on 5 July 2021 by the hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne.

Julia Lopez: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answers given to PQ 24213 on 27 July 2021 and PQ 27175 on 27 July 2021.

Cabinet Office: Energy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of Number 10 Downing Street's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Julia Lopez: The cost to the public purse of Cabinet Office's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021 is shown below:2019/202020/212021/22*£820,820£837,439£837,616* Estimated.This information mainly covers the buildings that are part of the Affiliates Cluster and where the Cabinet Office is the major occupier -Dover HouseAdmiralty House70 Whitehall10 Downing Street35 Great Smith Street Information for buildings where the Cabinet Office is a minor occupier is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Regional Planning and Development: Greater London

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech of 15 July 2021, which areas of London have been identified within the Government's levelling up agenda.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) indices of deprivation and (b) measures of median wages will be integrated into the Government's levelling up framework.

Chloe Smith: Levelling up is at the heart of the Government’s agenda to build back better after the pandemic and to deliver for citizens in every part of the UK. As per the Prime Minister’s speech, deprivation levels in London have been dramatically reduced but there is still much more to do. The details of how we plan to level up will be published later this year, as part of our landmark Levelling Up White Paper, setting out bold new policy interventions to improve livelihoods and opportunity in all parts of the UK, including London.

Ministers: Email

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the oral answer of the Parliamentary Secretary to the hon. Member for Warrington North of 28 June 2021, Official Report, column 36, what further steps she has taken to the look into the incident referred to.

Julia Lopez: The Information Commissioner has recently launched an investigation into the use of private correspondence channels in DHSC. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment on the ongoing investigation at this stage.

9 Downing Street: Facilities

Cat Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what purpose the rooms within 9 Downing Street are used.

Julia Lopez: No.9 Downing Street is the south wing of 70 Whitehall and forms part of the Cabinet Office Estate.The rooms are used for offices, storage and also the Broadcast Suite. The space is occupied and used by Cabinet Office and its immediate suppliers.

G7: Cornwall

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect on the environment of the Prime Minister's use of a private jet to travel from London to Cornwall on 9 June 2021 ahead of the G7 Summit.

Penny Mordaunt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 14211 on 29 June 2021.

Customs: Holyhead

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions has he had with the Welsh Government regarding the establishment of a Border Control Post at Parc Cybi.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of Warrington Inland Border Facility’s capacity to undertake sanitary and phytosanitary checks in the event that a Border Control Post at Parc Cybi is not operational by January 2022.

Penny Mordaunt: There has been engagement with Welsh Government counterparts - as well as weekly engagement at official level - about the inland border sites in North Wales. Provision of Border Control Posts for SPS checks is a devolved matter. However, Defra, HMRC, Wales Office, and Welsh Government are working constructively to define an appropriate control regime for customs and biosecurity checks to be in place and operational at the sites in Parc Cybi from 1 January.The Warrington Inland Border Facility has been operational since January 2021 and has the capacity to handle more than 700 goods vehicle movements per day for customs checks. Together with other inland border facilities, such as Birmingham and Sevington, there is more than adequate capacity to accommodate any shortfall capacity at Welsh ports and inland sites in January 2022, should this be needed.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of not consulting business or trade union on the Government guidance entitled Coronavirus: how to stay safe and help prevent the spread, updated on 19 March 2021.

Penny Mordaunt: Step 4 policy and guidance was developed in collaboration with departments and stakeholders including businesses and unions. The Government continuously reviews and updates the guidance available in light of emerging information and feedback from the public, working to ensure the guidance is clear and accessible.We discussed the development of guidance with stakeholders, including businesses and unions, however this did not happen under a formal consultation process, largely due to the need to react and make decisions swiftly at Ministerial level, given the circumstances during the pandemic.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the decision by the Netherlands to reintroduce covid-19 restrictions.

Penny Mordaunt: I refer the hon. Member to the statement given by the Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment on 22 July 2021.

Electronic Surveillance: Mobile Phones

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the extent of the use of Pegasus project spyware in the UK; and whether any UK citizen has been targeted by the software.

Penny Mordaunt: I refer the hon. Member to the reply Lord True gave to Lord Clement-Jones on 21 July, Official Report, column 256.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to rising UK cases of covid-19 and the effects of that matter on (a) workers in the health and care sector and (b) the workforce more widely, if he will review his decision to ease covid-19 lockdown measures on 19 July 2021.

Penny Mordaunt: England moved to step 4 of the roadmap on 19 July following a full assessment of the data against the four tests for easing restrictions. Moving to step 4 on 19 July means that the easing of restrictions coincides with the end of the school term, takes place over the summer when more activities can take place outdoors, and pressures on the NHS are less than in the autumn and winter months.The Government will retain contingency measures to respond to unexpected events, while accepting that further cases, hospitalisations and deaths will occur as the country learns to live with COVID-19. The Government will continue to monitor the data on a regular basis to ensure there is no danger of the NHS facing unsustainable pressure; work with local authorities and provide national support to local areas that need an enhanced response to COVID-19; and maintain contingency plans for reimposing economic and social restrictions at a local, regional or national level if evidence suggests they are necessary to suppress or manage a dangerous variant. Such measures would only be reintroduced as a last resort to prevent unsustainable pressure on the NHS.

UK Trade with EU: Civil Servants

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number of additional civil servants required to administer the checks on goods being imported to the UK from the EU under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and (b) cost of recruiting additional civil servants for that purpose.

Penny Mordaunt: Checks on goods being imported to the UK from the EU are carried out by HMRC, Defra and local Port Health Authorities. Full import controls are being introduced in a phased approach between October 2021 and March 2022. Defra and HMRC continue to review the number of staff required to conduct these checks and ensure that there are sufficient civil servants in post. Once the import controls, as set out under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, have been fully implemented, an accurate estimate of additional staffing required and the cost of this recruitment can be made.

Ports: EU Countries

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information he holds from the European Commission on the average number of weekly checks which being undertaken at EU ports compared to the number of similar weekly checks at Belfast port.

Penny Mordaunt: This information is not held by the UK Government. However, as indicated by the Chief Veterinary Officer for Northern Ireland, on the 15 April 2021 in the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, the Northern Ireland Executive has estimated that from January to March, the number of entry documents for products of animal origin, germinal products, and animal by-products (CHED-Ps) processed in Northern Ireland represented approximately 20% of the EU total. This is more than any single EU Member State - even though the population of Northern Ireland is just 0.5% of that of the EU as a whole.

Development and Use of Supply Chain Finance (and associated schemes) in Government Review

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Review into the Development and Use of Supply Chain Finance being led by Nigel Boardman will report to the Prime Minister by the end of June 2021.

Chloe Smith: I refer the Rt Hon Member to my written statement of 22 July 2021.

Treasury

Imports: Customs

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how long on average imported goods are taking to clear customs checks; and what assessment he has made of trends in the time taken for imported goods to clear customs since January 2021.

Jesse Norman: The Government’s priority is to keep goods moving and avoid delays at the border. HMRC use a risk based, intelligence-led response to compliance issues working alongside Border Force.There are a number of different customs checks which could take place, and the time required for a check will vary significantly based on:The type of check required;The nature of the import and the associated risk;The type and quantity of goods examined;The amount of time a trader or their agent takes to provide information at points in the process. The information requested is therefore not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. HMRC have not carried out an assessment of trends in the time taken for goods to clear customs. The Government has put in place a number of measures to facilitate trade with the EU and to avoid disruption at ports, including publishing comprehensive guidance on the new arrangements for trade with the EU and operating a staged approach to customs controls in Great Britain. Until 31 December 2021 most traders importing non-controlled goods from the EU can make a simplified declaration in their own records and defer making a customs declaration to HMRC for 175 days. Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/delaying-declarations-for-eu-goods-brought-into-great-britain

Transport: Taxation

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of simplifying tax rules to support subcontract use in the transport industry.

Jesse Norman: To maintain consistency and fairness across the tax system, subcontractors in the transport industry are subject to the same general tax rules as workers in other industries. The Government keeps all parts of the tax system under review. The Government has introduced a wider package of support worth billions to help businesses, including subcontractors, through the coronavirus period, which includes extensions to the furlough scheme; extensions to the COVID-19 loan schemes; grant support; enhanced Time to Pay for taxes; and VAT deferrals.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Voluntary Work

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) the NHS volunteer programme and (b) other national volunteering programmes do not conflict with or undermine programmes run by local organisations.

Matt Warman: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) aims to empower local volunteering and ensure national efforts to encourage volunteering do not detract from locally-led responses.DCMS is closely engaged with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England & NHS Improvement on NHS volunteer programmes, including the national NHS Volunteer Responders programme. In the course of those discussions, we consider local volunteering mechanisms, and how best to ensure that national NHS volunteering works with those, and that NHS volunteers and recipients of NHS volunteer services can be referred to local organisations.In recognition of the vital role that local organisations have played in the volunteer response to COVID-19, DCMS has commissioned research on local models of mobilising volunteers across England during the pandemic. The research aims to improve the evidence base of the various models of coordinating volunteers at a local level, including the ways in which local organisations collaborated with national volunteering programmes to support community volunteering.DCMS continues to work closely with the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector to assess the needs of the sector and how the government can best support it to continue its vital work. The Minister for Civil Society and DCMS officials are engaging regularly with civil society stakeholders to highlight and address key issues for the sector in responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

Internet: Fraud

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to minimise the risk of fraud facilitated through online advertisements in the period before the online advertising regulation consultation launches later in 2021.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government is deeply concerned about the growth and scale of online fraud. We know that the best way to tackle these scams is to ensure that the public have all the advice and support they need to detect these frauds and avoid them. That is why we have published guidance on GOV.UK containing easy-to-follow steps and useful resources. This can currently be accessed here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime As well as this, Action Fraud, the national reporting service for all victims of fraud and cybercrime, also regularly provide fraud alerts via their website including on common and newly seen fraud schemes. This can currently be accessed here: www.actionfraud.police.uk/news The Online Safety Bill, published on the 12th May, will require companies in scope of regulation to take action to tackle fraud, where it is facilitated through user-generated content (for example by social media posts) or via search results. We expect the regulatory framework to have a particular impact on specific types of fraud, such as romance scams, which are estimated to cost over £60 million a year and cause significant psychological harm to victims. As you are aware, DCMS will be considering how online advertising is regulated through its Online Advertising Programme. This work will look at ensuring that standards about the placement and content of advertising are effectively applied and enforced online to reduce consumers’ exposure to harmful or misleading advertising. This work will look at the role advertising can play in enabling online fraud and help inform our future efforts to tackle it. We will be consulting on this issue later this year.

Food: Advertising

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of restrictions on the online advertising of products that are high in fat, salt and sugar on investment by food manufacturers in UK companies compared with international competitors.

Caroline Dinenage: The Impact Assessment published alongside the Government’s consultation response for the 2019 and 2020 consultations on further restricting the advertising of food and drinks products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) on TV and online estimates that advertisers, including manufacturers, retailers and out of home businesses will have lower returns of around £39m per year as a result of the restrictions. The restrictions will apply to all companies advertising to UK consumers, whether or not they are UK companies. The Government is cognisant of the revenue impacts to UK business, but we must act now to reduce the risks obesity presents to us all and act to protect our NHS. It is estimated that obesity-related conditions are currently costing the NHS £6.1 billion per year. The total costs to society of these conditions have been estimated at around £27 billion per year. Throughout this policy’s development we have been keen to mitigate the impacts on business whilst balancing the vital need to improve the nation’s health. Part of this includes the number of exemptions which are part of the policy. By including these exemptions, such as for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), it keeps the policy proportionate.

Rented Housing: Registration

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to give powers to local authorities to introduce a mandatory short-term lets registration scheme.

Nigel Huddleston: Published in June, the Tourism Recovery Plan states that the Government will launch a consultation on the introduction of a Tourist Accommodation Registration Scheme in England. The Government is committed to hearing the views of all interested parties on the merits and drawbacks of a Registration Scheme, and how any potential scheme could be implemented proportionately to avoid placing a significant regulatory burden on the sector or risking a reduction in supply. Further details of the timescale for this consultation will be announced in due course.

Women and Equalities

Maternity Services: Enfield North

Feryal Clark: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2021 to Question 29932 on Maternity Services: Enfield North, what (a) steps she has taken and (b) plans she has developed as a result of discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on improvements in maternal care for (a) women living in poverty, (b) Black women and (c) Asian women in the Enfield North constituency.

Kemi Badenoch: As set out in my answer of 19 July 2021, since summer 2020 I have been working with the Minister for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health and officials in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to improve maternal outcomes for all ethnic minority women.This has included co-hosting a roundtable discussion on maternal mortality rates for ethnic minority women in September 2020, which identified the need for more intelligent use of data to target action. Following this, officials in the Cabinet Office Race Disparity Unit, who are supporting me in this work, have been helping DHSC colleagues to understand how data can be disaggregated and flow more easily among NHS agencies and research bodies.This is in addition to the wider package of measures DHSC is taking forward to improve maternal health outcomes for all women, and in particular those from an ethnic minority background and those living in areas with high deprivation.